• ! ! ! IMPORTANT MESSAGE ! ! !

    Discussions about police investigations

    In light of recent developments about a player from Premier League being arrested and until there is an official announcement, ALL users should refrain from discussing or speculating about situations around personal off-pitch matters related to any Arsenal player. This is to protect you and the forum.

    Users who disregard this reminder will be issued warnings and their posts will get deleted from public.

Mikel Arteta: Top Of The Klopps

Oxeki

Match Day Thread Merchant
Trusted ⭐

Country: Nigeria

Player:Saliba
Meh, ridiculous to blame the club for the players not having the mentality to make it at the highest level........ if Akpom lost his head due to competition from Sanogo at youth level then what were the chances of him not losing his head eventually had he made it to the first team? Wenger gave Akpom plenty of chances to perform, even cleared the way for him by letting Chuks Aneke go...... is it Wenger's fault that Akpom choked?
TBF the club loaned him to terrible destination
 

oh to be a goon

Active Member
This may be a comment for another thread, but it feels like wenger gave up on developing players after Cesc/Nasri/Van Persie. At the time we were bigging up the academy after wenger updated it upon his arrival (Wilshere's generation being the first iteration of that), but after Wilshere's 10/11 season almost no one got a look in. We didnt want to get rid of our top prospects in the reserves and so just held onto them until they drifted off into 2nd tier european league obsurity. Chuks Aneke and Benik Afobe were telepathic together, but neither were given an opportunity in the 1st team (Aneke has literally 1 appearance for Arsenal).
The point others were making is that when a player is on an upward trend in development, you want to continue that trend for as long as possible by upping the difficulty. When players spend too long at a particular level, they will stagnate and getting them back on the upward trend after they have plateaued can be impossible. Mentality isnt necessarily enough
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
This may be a comment for another thread, but it feels like wenger gave up on developing players after Cesc/Nasri/Van Persie. At the time we were bigging up the academy after wenger updated it upon his arrival (Wilshere's generation being the first iteration of that), but after Wilshere's 10/11 season almost no one got a look in. We didnt want to get rid of our top prospects in the reserves and so just held onto them until they drifted off into 2nd tier european league obsurity. Chuks Aneke and Benik Afobe were telepathic together, but neither were given an opportunity in the 1st team (Aneke has literally 1 appearance for Arsenal).
The point others were making is that when a player is on an upward trend in development, you want to continue that trend for as long as possible by upping the difficulty. When players spend too long at a particular level, they will stagnate and getting them back on the upward trend after they have plateaued can be impossible. Mentality isnt necessarily enough
Honestly, the priorities changed and the collateral damage was that there was no longer as much patience for youngsters as there was before. There were exceptions when bodies dropped (Bellerin for example) but mostly it was a crapshoot and if Wenger liked you enough to still give you a shot. And to be honest, he didn't do so badly towards the end of his reign when it came to giving chances but in his effort to shoehorn them all in, he often left them out of position.

Contrary to what the other poster who replied to me said, I don't exactly blame the club for that. There are so many factors, lack of [adequate] opportunity being just one prominent factor. I do think there should have been more opportunities but that's just my opinion (as someone who was and still is a proponent for Project Youth).
 

nick gould

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what his ceiling is - I'm being a little cautious in my estimation. I think his technical quality and intelligence could definitely see him become starting material definitely. I think it all hinges on the opportunities he is offered.

Is he going to be another Harry Winks, good at keeping things ticking and simple. Is he different from our Burton? Such players survive if they are surrounded by good technical players around them.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
Is he going to be another Harry Winks, good at keeping things ticking and simple. Is he different from our Burton? Such players survive if they are surrounded by good technical players around them.
Harry Winks is a great example actually. I'd say Smith is a bit more creative than Winks, while Winks is probably a bit better at winning duels. Smith and Burton are strikingly similar in playstyle, with the latter being a tad more aggressive in his approach. Smith is much more likely to rely on his intelligence while Burton can mix it up and play a more physical game if he needs to.

Smith I'd say would do well with a bit of physicality around him. He's definitely capable of surviving in an Arsenal set-up.
 

Tourbillion

Angry & Miserable
Harry Winks is a great example actually. I'd say Smith is a bit more creative than Winks, while Winks is probably a bit better at winning duels. Smith and Burton are strikingly similar in playstyle, with the latter being a tad more aggressive in his approach. Smith is much more likely to rely on his intelligence while Burton can mix it up and play a more physical game if he needs to.

Smith I'd say would do well with a bit of physicality around him. He's definitely capable of surviving in an Arsenal set-up.
What do you honestly make of Burton? Actually, Olayinka too, come to think of it.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
What do you honestly make of Burton? Actually, Olayinka too, come to think of it.
I always liked Burton - I think he'll go onto be a PL level midfielder - but thought Smith was the better prospect. Burton's issue was that he was a bit slow on the ball sometimes, while Smith is capable of quickening the tempo when necessary and uses agility a bit more in his ability to evade pressure. Burton was brave in taking the move to Europe so I want to see how he fares. He's got a very determined streak in him so I think he will do well.

Olayinka is an interesting prospect, purely because it's difficult to nail down a special ability of his, but he's a good blend of athleticism and technique. Tenacious and a good dribbler/passer. Perhaps more interesting is how well he carries out tactical directions, which is probably why the coaches at Arsenal like him so much. He got hurt one game into his season at Northampton (he got MOTM in that game too) so remains to be seen how he picks his momentum back up.
 

Tourbillion

Angry & Miserable
I always liked Burton - I think he'll go onto be a PL level midfielder - but thought Smith was the better prospect. Burton's issue was that he was a bit slow on the ball sometimes, while Smith is capable of quickening the tempo when necessary and uses agility a bit more in his ability to evade pressure. Burton was brave in taking the move to Europe so I want to see how he fares. He's got a very determined streak in him so I think he will do well.

Olayinka is an interesting prospect, purely because it's difficult to nail down a special ability of his, but he's a good blend of athleticism and technique. Tenacious and a good dribbler/passer. Perhaps more interesting is how well he carries out tactical directions, which is probably why the coaches at Arsenal like him so much. He got hurt one game into his season at Northampton (he got MOTM in that game too) so remains to be seen how he picks his momentum back up.
Cheers. Yeah, I liked Olayinka last preseason. Would be good to see him get another chance here. Great energy.
 

The_Playmaker

Established Member
Trusted ⭐
I hope Arteta really goes by training for this restart.he has historically gone for good trainers. It's time to go for the fittest and sharpest players. The players who have done the most work ar home will be the sharpest as well as the younger and natural athletes.

Auba, Martinelli, Nelson, Willock, Saka, Bellerin will all be sharp.

Mustafi, Luiz, AMN, Tierney, Ceballos, Torreira and Lacazette may be okay.

Xhaka, Sokratis, Kolasinac will be off the pace.

Özil will be Özil.
 

OnlyOne

‘Donkeys don’t have a peak, they remain useless’
Trusted ⭐

Country: England
I hope Arteta really goes by training for this restart.he has historically gone for good trainers. It's time to go for the fittest and sharpest players. The players who have done the most work ar home will be the sharpest as well as the younger and natural athletes.

Auba, Martinelli, Nelson, Willock, Saka, Bellerin will all be sharp.

Mustafi, Luiz, AMN, Tierney, Ceballos, Torreira and Lacazette may be okay.

Xhaka, Sokratis, Kolasinac will be off the pace.

Özil will be Özil.

What makes you say that? You have no idea how much they have done and haven't.
 

Furious

Emery Gone, Telly Back On
I hope Arteta really goes by training for this restart.he has historically gone for good trainers. It's time to go for the fittest and sharpest players. The players who have done the most work ar home will be the sharpest as well as the younger and natural athletes.

Auba, Martinelli, Nelson, Willock, Saka, Bellerin will all be sharp.

Mustafi, Luiz, AMN, Tierney, Ceballos, Torreira and Lacazette may be okay.

Xhaka, Sokratis, Kolasinac will be off the pace.

Özil will be Özil.

What kind of nonsense is this?

So players you like will be sharp, and players you don't like, will not. Clearly this is the thought process here, FM stuff.
 
Top Bottom