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General Reserves Talk

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Arsenal1508

Mods are unethical! Özil, come assist me please!
To me, Emile Smith Rowe is the stand out talent in our youth. He is at the Frenkie De Jong level.
His transfer value is 80million plus - more than Dayot. Ridiculous that RB Lepizig think we'd ever include him in a deal with a big cash offer.

I want Emile Smith Rowe to get match time again with us this season. He scored 3 goals in such limited opportunities. Imagine if he gets more opportunities...expect 10+ goals.
 
G

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
Arsenal1508 said:
To me, Emile Smith Rowe is the stand out talent in our youth. He is at the Frenkie De Jong level.
His transfer value is 80million plus - more than Dayot. Ridiculous that RB Lepizig think we'd ever include him in a deal with a big cash offer.

I want Emile Smith Rowe to get match time again with us this season. He scored 3 goals in such limited opportunities. Imagine if he gets more opportunities...expect 10+ goals.
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What has Smith Rowe accomplished in his career to have a transfer value higher than Dayot?

A defender on one of the best defensive teams in a top 5 European league who is just one year older than ESR, but with 3x the experience as he has been playing senior football for years.

Smith Rowe is already pretty injury prone as a teenager which many people are not taking serious enough.

He is a good young player, but nothing about his game screams 'can't miss or special talent!'

Reiss Nelson, a far more explosive talent without the injury issues has been criticized consistently by a lot of folks cause they get to see him play consistently and can dissect every aspect of his game.

Smith Rowe isn't even as talented as 19 year old Jack Wilshere, yet people actually think we shouldn't sell him if the opportunity comes around to get a 20 year defender with world class potential.
 
Dutch D

Dutch D

Well-Known Member & FPL Champion 19/20
MutableEarth said:
Good move for him. Brentford are on job when it comes to transfers so that bodes well for Thompson. Did he have a future here? I think in time he could have been an able deputy as @Impact and @Dutch D intimated.

It leaves us relatively short in the LB position at academy level - Thompson likely was the #1 LB in that team, so that will probably go to Tolaji Bola who has experience there but hasn't kicked on to the extent that Thompson has. Then there's Joel Lopez, who is probably the #1 LB for the U18s who could play his way into that team - but there's not a lot behind him so it's a position we're not that well stocked in.
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Strange move given that we have two poor LBs in the squad and little depth in the academy, but with Tierney incoming I guess there is no need to keep him as depth (given that there are no links to Kola & Monreal.
Arsenal1508 said:
To me, Emile Smith Rowe is the stand out talent in our youth. He is at the Frenkie De Jong level.
His transfer value is 80million plus - more than Dayot. Ridiculous that RB Lepizig think we'd ever include him in a deal with a big cash offer.

I want Emile Smith Rowe to get match time again with us this season. He scored 3 goals in such limited opportunities. Imagine if he gets more opportunities...expect 10+ goals.
Click to expand...
I rate Emile Smith-Rowe but this comparison is mental. ESR still has everything to prove. His value will go up once he starts showing he can live up to his potential. I think the smart move would be to loan him out for the season to a club where he's guaranteed 25+ games in the starting line-up.

Frenkie played 22/34 games before last season, most at CB because he's that good in the build-up phase. Although it cost Ajax a lot of physical presence, his tackling/intercepting/reading the game went up another level. Then the next season he played 31/34 games in his preferred position and, more importantly, bossed the best teams / players in the world in the CL all the way up to the semi-final, making Modric and several other top players look like his lackey. ESR is younger, so he has time, but he needs to show quality consistently to be worth more money.

At a stretch now he's at 20-25m based on his potential and nationality and that's because the market has gone nuts. But to us he's potentially worth a lot more, so we loan not sell.
 
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Aevi

Aevi

Hale End FC
Moderator
Feels like a big day for the academy.

Iwobi, to me anyways, was the beginning of this new generation of very talented academy players we have. The end product might not have been there, but he still played with a technique and maturity that was befitting of our team. For his efforts and the opportunities we gave him, we've now churned out a very hefty profit; this was one of our goals. Sale or not, I think Iwobi was a very successful academy product and has paved the way for the next wave of players coming through. I'm excited for that, and I meanwhile really hope he can establish himself as a strong starter at Everton. He's got the tools to do it.
 
MutableEarth

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
THunter said:
Ebiowei with a goal and 3 assists for the u16s.

Him and Azeez look like the stars of the next gen after the current lot.
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They're the two big names so far who look a cut above. Patino obviously aswell, who's meant to be really good. There's a lot to look forward to from the new batch, their development will be highly intriguing.

There's a bit more variety from this bunch aswell - Monlouis and Ogungbo were the two U18 CB starters today (Monlouis is a schoolboy) and they both look promising, particularly Ogungbo. Azeez, versatile though he is, looks primed to be a technical DM/DLP hybrid a la Busquets. Ebiowei a more offensive player, slightly like Musah but more attacking. Good athlete, very skillful. Sam Greenwood the 9.5, uber-technical, clever. Then there's the ones who're slightly below the current tier but still promising - Taylor-Hart, Cottrell, Matthews etc.

The U16s currently are tintriguing to me - Bandeira, Ebiowei, Hutchinson, Patino. Much buzz about these 4 players.
 
hydrofluoric acid

hydrofluoric acid

🙏

Country: Iceland
MutableEarth said:

5 years! That's a big contract for your first pro deal.

Azeez is definitely the biggest name in the intake. A mainstay of the England u17 midfield, the most rounded talent overall and someone who could conceivably be ready for first team cameos sooner rather than later.
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That is huge and shows they already know his talent and have idea about his potential!

Good moment to predict he could be seen on the bench in EL or Cariboo this season even!
 
MutableEarth

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
hydrofluoric acid said:
That is huge and shows they already know his talent and have idea about his potential!

Good moment to predict he could be seen on the bench in EL or Cariboo this season even!
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Nah too early. He would need to break into the U23 midfield first IMO. Usurping Burton, Olayinka and Matt Smith. He can do it but that will take longer than a couple months IMO. I think a good benchmark would be to become an u23 regular by the 2nd half of the season.
 
hydrofluoric acid

hydrofluoric acid

🙏

Country: Iceland
MutableEarth said:
Nah too early. He would need to break into the U23 midfield first IMO. Usurping Burton, Olayinka and Matt Smith. He can do it but that will take longer than a couple months IMO. I think a good benchmark would be to become an u23 regular by the 2nd half of the season.
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Willock got the nod in for first team at the same time he was getting starter in u23. I predict Saka to be involved last season and I think people said to early with him too. Might even have to dig that up for fun of it!

With that said I would like to see more of Burton, Olayinka in first team. Matt Smith is also one of my favorite and it would be fun to see him!
 
MutableEarth

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
hydrofluoric acid said:
Willock got the nod in for first team at the same time he was getting starter in u23. I predict Saka to be involved last season and I think people said to early with him too. Might even have to dig that up for fun of it!

With that said I would like to see more of Burton, Olayinka in first team. Matt Smith is also one of my favorite and it would be fun to see him!
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Willock had the benefit of going on tour with the first team in preseason which gave him that introduction. He was fortunate in a way - Wenger liked him so he brought him a la Iwobi.

Saka was a bit of a surprise admittedly as he was still a 1st year, but he also had a bit of an introduction aswell due to the Checkatrade trophy. I think if there are any injuries or call-ups that coincide then we could see Azeez make an appearance in one of those games definitely.

I can definitely see Burton or Olayinka getting an appearance in the EL. Maybe not from the start, but Burton in particular seems well liked. I don't see him at Arsenal long term but he's promising and one who could definitely surprise - has the technical ability and a spicy little edge to him, not afraid of the battle. Matt Smith is a favorite of mine too, I think he's in the conversation for most technical player. Passes extremely well, receives in good positions, very intelligent and diligent. I think they've got to work on his agility and acceleration IMO - he's not a particularly strong or fast player, so he needs to have some sort of accompanying attribute to really take his game to the next level. He can do that IMO.

Back to Azeez, I would definitely not be surprised if he shows out and ends up close to the first team fringe even this season, however I'm being cautious about his rise. He doesn't have masses of competition ahead in the U23 but enough that he can continue cooking in the U18s, where he's doing well leading that team along with Cottrell. I do still predict U23s by January but not before - I'll be very pleasantly surprised if he is beyond U23s by then.

He's the perfect midfielder that we need IMO. Capable of playing very well as a DM but the kind of DM who can actually dribble and pass to a high standard, real technical. There are indications he models his game loosely on Busquets, so I think that's a sign of the kind of player he's most likely to become - I think with his physical abilities he can potentially be a different, more unique player (if he becomes as good as Busquets or better, we'll be laughing all the way round the Emirates and back!).
 
MutableEarth

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
THunter said:
Seems like we’ve thrown the cheque book at him after losing Musah. 5 year deal I read before.
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So they should. Ideally we keep both of them but Azeez IMO is an equal. His ceiling IMO is limitless. This is the star of this current group, it's almost undisputed (bay bay).
 
Manberg

Manberg

Predator
I remember years ago when Wenger said there was a very special kid in the youth system. I still don’t know who he was referring to.
 
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