General Reserves Talk

[MutableEarth]

He was taken off at half time presumably because Ampadu wants him and Nketiah (and possibly Malen too) to play for the U18s tomorrow vs Chelsea - where if we don't lose, we will win the U18 league.

I think that fixture will hinge partially on the midfield 2 - Marcus McGuane and Josh DaSilva, who've been very consistent. Having Nketiah and Nelson in front of them gives us a good platform.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Not sure what this vid is post to show. Is it speeded up when he goes past the player?

 

[Aevi]

Sheaf MOTM for me. Chris Willock did well too. I'm disappointed that the team collapsed though, even if there was an unfortunate own goal involved. It shows that they weren't in the right frame of mind when they went ahead, which is important at higher levels.

 

[mm76]

It was disappointing after such a bright first half, still it's all experience and obviously in a 'real' situation no team would sub two high-impact players like Nketiah and Nelson at HT.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Sheaf MOTM for me. Chris Willock did well too. I'm disappointed that the team collapsed though, even if there was an unfortunate own goal involved. It shows that they weren't in the right frame of mind when they went ahead, which is important at higher levels.

Glad to hear! I remember suggesting that Sheaf could be worthy candidate of youngsters that can become part of the first team squad one day. Got laughed at for it. Still huge fan of him. He has everything Wenger loves in player.

Hopefully we can tie Willock down to new contract. He and Nelson really should battle for Perez spot if he leaves in the summer.

 

[MutableEarth]

Glad to hear! I remember suggesting that Sheaf could be worthy candidate of youngsters that can become part of the first team squad one day. Got laughed at for it. Still huge fan of him. He has everything Wenger loves in player.

Hopefully we can tie Willock down to new contract. He and Nelson really should battle for Perez spot if he leaves in the summer.

Yeah, I have always thought Sheaf had the physical and technical quality to do well for us, and it seems that moving to CB has seen his stock rise pretty high. Unexpected for me, as I expected it to be difficult for him to break into the team as a CM, but he was still very good in that position too. As a modern CB, he has very high potential. And even now, he still has competition for places with Holding, Chambers and Bielik all competing for a spot behind the crop of senior CBs that we already have in Koscielny, Mustafi, Gabriel and Per.

 

[teamsoutheast]

Went to this one and I must say the atmosphere in the 2nd half was brilliant. Was a really good game. We should have been 3 or 4-0 up in the first half. Man Utd looked weak. City have a much better team than them. I really don't know how we came out of this with just a point.

 

[teamsoutheast]

Yeah, I have always thought Sheaf had the physical and technical quality to do well for us, and it seems that moving to CB has seen his stock rise pretty high. Unexpected for me, as I expected it to be difficult for him to break into the team as a CM, but he was still very good in that position too. As a modern CB, he has very high potential. And even now, he still has competition for places with Holding, Chambers and Bielik all competing for a spot behind the crop of senior CBs that we already have in Koscielny, Mustafi, Gabriel and Per.

Is he better than Pleguezuelo though?

 

[mm76]

[QUOTE="hydrofluoric acid, post: 4321298, member: 92323"
Hopefully we can tie Willock down to new contract. He and Nelson really should battle for Perez spot if he leaves in the summer.[/QUOTE]

That's not much to battle for -an occasional chance to sit on the bench and get the odd 15 mins against ‎lower table sides...

I hope they get much better treatment than Perez has had from Wenger

 

[MutableEarth]

Bad news on the U18s front:

They lost to Chelsea 3-1. Chelsea now only need to beat Reading on Friday and they are U18 league champions. Massive blow as just a draw would have put us in a strong position. No shame in losing to pretty much the best and most tactically strong academy in English football and we can still take some encouragement from the progress the club has made on the academy front. Nevertheless, this will be a bitter blow as the team were very close to winning the U18 league.

 

[mm76]

Bad news on the U18s front:

They lost to Chelsea 3-1. Chelsea now only need to beat Reading on Friday and they are U18 league champions. Massive blow as just a draw would have put us in a strong position. No shame in losing to pretty much the best and most tactically strong academy in English football and we can still take some encouragement from the progress the club has made on the academy front. Nevertheless, this will be a bitter blow as the team were very close to winning the U18 league.

yeah it's a pity - report here:

https://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/...ss-to-chelsea-dents-arsenal-u18s-title-hopes/

 

[Naby keita]

I really want to see Nelson & Willock involved in the first team as soon as possible. I think we should get rid of perez,giroud,walcott/welbeck next year and bring in Willock,Nelson,Mpappe,Mahrez.

 

[4R5Emaniac]

I really want to see Nelson & Willock involved in the first team as soon as possible. I think we should get rid of perez,giroud,walcott/welbeck next year and bring in Willock,Nelson,Mpappe,Mahrez.

You should join us, please.

 

[celestis]

Bad news on the U18s front:

They lost to Chelsea 3-1. Chelsea now only need to beat Reading on Friday and they are U18 league champions. Massive blow as just a draw would have put us in a strong position. No shame in losing to pretty much the best and most tactically strong academy in English football and we can still take some encouragement from the progress the club has made on the academy front. Nevertheless, this will be a bitter blow as the team were very close to winning the U18 league.

Yeah shame as im watching them dominate the first half after a slow start. Awful defending at setpieces but not much difference between the two squads.

 

[celestis]

I really want to see Nelson & Willock involved in the first team as soon as possible. I think we should get rid of perez,giroud,walcott/welbeck next year and bring in Willock,Nelson,Mpappe,Mahrez.

Willock hasn't signed a contract with us has he? Hope he is around next season.

 

[MutableEarth]

Yeah shame as im watching them dominate the first half after a slow start. Awful defending at setpieces but not much difference between the two squads.

According to a @chelseayouth on twitter, this is the strongest team they've faced all season, which is not just a testament to how well we have done this season (albeit with more experienced players at that level than usual) but also, how incredibly strong Chelsea's academy is. Really is quite tragic that so many of those players are not near the Chelsea first team but it is surely tough to break into that team.

But Arsenal have come a long way this season on the academy front. A number of our players have made significant improvement at both U23 and U18 level. Nelson and Nketiah are both 17, yet both are incredibly dangerous performers at U23 level. Nketiah has a better scoring record than Akpom, Mavididi and even Benik Afobe. His total scoring record at U23 level and below for the last 2 seasons is 48 goals in 64 games. In contrast, Akpom had 44 in 68 and Mavididi has 44 in 88.

It, of course, goes without saying that what they do at that level is not an automatic precursor to their professional careers. Akpom has never been able to replicate his exploits at first team level and Afobe has done well to be a decent mid-table PL striker after so many injuries. Meanwhile, Mavididi has only had 300 minutes of first team football and looked very impressive in that short time. It's tough to break into that top spot. Nketiah has the goals and the intelligence, it is up to him to take any opportunity that arises.

It will be interesting to see what happens at that level in midfield. Marcus McGuane and Josh DaSilva have been mainstays for U18s after a few forays into U23 football. This season will have been a good experience for them as they have played pretty much their best football this season, and Da Silva has even had a first team call-up. Smith-Rowe has quickly become an important U18 player aswell.

I do predict that there will be more than one player to make it to the first team from this current lot in the academy. Given the opportunity, I think there's a few players who could become really top talents. Nelson is the ace in the pack though. Maitland-Niles could also be really, really good - he is definitely trying to adapt his game to a more playmaking/dictator-like style but he should not do it at the complete expense of his normal energetic play. I was disappointed in the way he kept slowing the game down in the 2nd half against Man U. Part of his development will of course be finding that balance.

 

[MutableEarth]

 

[celestis]

According to a @chelseayouth on twitter, this is the strongest team they've faced all season, which is not just a testament to how well we have done this season (albeit with more experienced players at that level than usual) but also, how incredibly strong Chelsea's academy is. Really is quite tragic that so many of those players are not near the Chelsea first team but it is surely tough to break into that team.

But Arsenal have come a long way this season on the academy front. A number of our players have made significant improvement at both U23 and U18 level. Nelson and Nketiah are both 17, yet both are incredibly dangerous performers at U23 level. Nketiah has a better scoring record than Akpom, Mavididi and even Benik Afobe. His total scoring record at U23 level and below for the last 2 seasons is 48 goals in 64 games. In contrast, Akpom had 44 in 68 and Mavididi has 44 in 88.

It, of course, goes without saying that what they do at that level is not an automatic precursor to their professional careers. Akpom has never been able to replicate his exploits at first team level and Afobe has done well to be a decent mid-table PL striker after so many injuries. Meanwhile, Mavididi has only had 300 minutes of first team football and looked very impressive in that short time. It's tough to break into that top spot. Nketiah has the goals and the intelligence, it is up to him to take any opportunity that arises.

It will be interesting to see what happens at that level in midfield. Marcus McGuane and Josh DaSilva have been mainstays for U18s after a few forays into U23 football. This season will have been a good experience for them as they have played pretty much their best football this season, and Da Silva has even had a first team call-up. Smith-Rowe has quickly become an important U18 player aswell.

I do predict that there will be more than one player to make it to the first team from this current lot in the academy. Given the opportunity, I think there's a few players who could become really top talents. Nelson is the ace in the pack though. Maitland-Niles could also be really, really good - he is definitely trying to adapt his game to a more playmaking/dictator-like style but he should not do it at the complete expense of his normal energetic play. I was disappointed in the way he kept slowing the game down in the 2nd half against Man U. Part of his development will of course be finding that balance.

Yeah agree mate . Did watch their games at the start of the season the improvement in the team has been sizeable. Who knows if their bus hadnt got to Cobham late they might have got out of the blocks quicker.

 

[nick gould]

Is Joe Wilock as gifted as his brother?

 

[MutableEarth]

Is Joe Wilock as gifted as his brother?

Not sure yet. Chris is technically superb. Think Joe definitely has better potential in terms of his passing though.

This came up in my feed again - had to repost it. Still can't get over how great his dribbling has looked this season.