General Reserves Talk

[Aussie_gunner123]

One of my good mates who is from Sunderland has just told me that we have just signed a new academy player in the U/23's from his team Sunderland, anyone know anything about this?

 

[MutableEarth]

One of my good mates who is from Sunderland has just told me that we have just signed a new academy player in the U/23's from his team Sunderland, anyone know anything about this?

Yeah, Sam Greenwood, a forward. Pretty technical, can play #10.

 

[MutableEarth]

I've watched 3 out of 4 U23 games in full so far this season, and one of the most underrated players in the team so far has been Charlie Gilmour. I've been quietly impressed with how he's gone about his business this season. I'm not sure if he's done enough to get a shot at Carabao Cup action, but he's offered something very different to the Arsenal team so far - he's been physical, tactically smart, and diligent with the ball - playing some nice tidy passes and creating the right angles for his teammates. The last midfielder who's been that good as an anchor for the U23s recently was Marcus McGuane. The rest have mostly been B2Bs shoehorned in. Gilmour looks a good DM at the moment. If he continues his development in that position, an opportunity will come for him.

Joe Willock IMO has been the MVP so far though, he's easily been the best player in the U23 team so far. Seems to be developing into a real B2B player. Hopefully he builds on his power, as that could be a real asset for him as his dribbling and passing gets progressively smoother.

 

[Fawwaz Ahmed]

I've watched 3 out of 4 U23 games in full so far this season, and one of the most underrated players in the team so far has been Charlie Gilmour. I've been quietly impressed with how he's gone about his business this season. I'm not sure if he's done enough to get a shot at Carabao Cup action, but he's offered something very different to the Arsenal team so far - he's been physical, tactically smart, and diligent with the ball - playing some nice tidy passes and creating the right angles for his teammates. The last midfielder who's been that good as an anchor for the U23s recently was Marcus McGuane. The rest have mostly been B2Bs shoehorned in. Gilmour looks a good DM at the moment. If he continues his development in that position, an opportunity will come for him.

Joe Willock IMO has been the MVP so far though, he's easily been the best player in the U23 team so far. Seems to be developing into a real B2B player. Hopefully he builds on his power, as that could be a real asset for him as his dribbling and passing gets progressively smoother.

Now that you have mentioned Marcus McGuane, any idea on how he is getting on at Barcelona? I remember him making hi senior debut in some Catalan Cup competition but nothing apart from that. Whenever, albeit a few times, I have seen the Barca B team sheet, he was not involved.

 

[The_Playmaker]

I've watched 3 out of 4 U23 games in full so far this season, and one of the most underrated players in the team so far has been Charlie Gilmour. I've been quietly impressed with how he's gone about his business this season. I'm not sure if he's done enough to get a shot at Carabao Cup action, but he's offered something very different to the Arsenal team so far - he's been physical, tactically smart, and diligent with the ball - playing some nice tidy passes and creating the right angles for his teammates. The last midfielder who's been that good as an anchor for the U23s recently was Marcus McGuane. The rest have mostly been B2Bs shoehorned in. Gilmour looks a good DM at the moment. If he continues his development in that position, an opportunity will come for him.

Joe Willock IMO has been the MVP so far though, he's easily been the best player in the U23 team so far. Seems to be developing into a real B2B player. Hopefully he builds on his power, as that could be a real asset for him as his dribbling and passing gets progressively smoother.

Im still not convinced by Willock. I think it's his physical attributes that give him an advantage at under 23 level.

Do you have any news on Zelalem? I heard he's training with the first team which is quite interesting. He's a forgotten man, but if he has recovered from his acl surgery fully he could be interesting.

I think we handled his development quite badly. Zelalem was flawless technically. If he is back to his previous level, he is easily our best midfielder technically on the ball. Emery loves playing Xhaka and Guendouzi but if you are looking for beating the press and being composed on the ball, Zelalem fits the ball. His biggest issue was his frame and physically we just didn't pay enough attention to it. However that may do him some good in the long term as he seems to have packed some muscle on and stands at a tall 180cm.

Personally if he regains fitness it could be a question of Guendouzi and Zelalem competing for Xhakas spot.

 

[scytheavatar]

I think we handled his development quite badly. Zelalem was flawless technically. If he is back to his previous level, he is easily our best midfielder technically on the ball. Emery loves playing Xhaka and Guendouzi but if you are looking for beating the press and being composed on the ball, Zelalem fits the ball. His biggest issue was his frame and physically we just didn't pay enough attention to it. However that may do him some good in the long term as he seems to have packed some muscle on and stands at a tall 180cm.

Personally if he regains fitness it could be a question of Guendouzi and Zelalem competing for Xhakas spot.

Quite certain our coaches did pay attention to Zelalem's physicality, and you are vastly underestimating how hard it is to bulk up a person. You are speaking as if it's easy to turn Denilson into Vieira. Wenger mentioned a long time ago that you can only see if a player has the physical talent to make it when he is 18 years old, what could our coaches do to Zelalem when he's getting career ending injuries at that age?

 

[MutableEarth]

Now that you have mentioned Marcus McGuane, any idea on how he is getting on at Barcelona? I remember him making hi senior debut in some Catalan Cup competition but nothing apart from that. Whenever, albeit a few times, I have seen the Barca B team sheet, he was not involved.

Haven't kept tabs on him but according to Barca fans he's doing OK without pulling up many trees.

Im still not convinced by Willock. I think it's his physical attributes that give him an advantage at under 23 level.

Do you have any news on Zelalem? I heard he's training with the first team which is quite interesting. He's a forgotten man, but if he has recovered from his acl surgery fully he could be interesting.

I think we handled his development quite badly. Zelalem was flawless technically. If he is back to his previous level, he is easily our best midfielder technically on the ball. Emery loves playing Xhaka and Guendouzi but if you are looking for beating the press and being composed on the ball, Zelalem fits the ball. His biggest issue was his frame and physically we just didn't pay enough attention to it. However that may do him some good in the long term as he seems to have packed some muscle on and stands at a tall 180cm.

Personally if he regains fitness it could be a question of Guendouzi and Zelalem competing for Xhakas spot.

Willock is underrated by Arsenal fans IMO. He's a lot more technically secure than I had previously thought and still needs to get used to that frame.

Zelalem has been training for a couple of months now but hasn't gotten a game for the U23s yet, but I'd imagine he could see time in the Checkatrade game next Wednesday as most youngsters will still be on international duty.

In fairness, he's looking a hell of a lot bigger than before and looks like he has been lifting houses since the ACL. I want to see how his game has been affected though. He was never an explosive athlete which I think is an advantage, but he has always had good agility and close control - and maybe with his extra bulk can augment his style of play with some power to go with his passing.

Still a young man, 97 born. At 21, still got developing to do. Wouldn't write him off.

 

[Aussie_gunner123]

Yeah, Sam Greenwood, a forward. Pretty technical, can play #10.

Thanks mate, now I know he wasn't fibbing being cheeky like he is towards me haha. Do you have a link on our website I can see?

 

[Aussie_gunner123]

I've watched 3 out of 4 U23 games in full so far this season, and one of the most underrated players in the team so far has been Charlie Gilmour. I've been quietly impressed with how he's gone about his business this season. I'm not sure if he's done enough to get a shot at Carabao Cup action, but he's offered something very different to the Arsenal team so far - he's been physical, tactically smart, and diligent with the ball - playing some nice tidy passes and creating the right angles for his teammates. The last midfielder who's been that good as an anchor for the U23s recently was Marcus McGuane. The rest have mostly been B2Bs shoehorned in. Gilmour looks a good DM at the moment. If he continues his development in that position, an opportunity will come for him.

Joe Willock IMO has been the MVP so far though, he's easily been the best player in the U23 team so far. Seems to be developing into a real B2B player. Hopefully he builds on his power, as that could be a real asset for him as his dribbling and passing gets progressively smoother.

Is Emery any chance to play a few of our academy players in the Carabao & FA cup this year though? If he does I'd like to see Willock, Nketiah, Zelalem get a run at least.

 

[MutableEarth]

This is the last full Zelalem game I remember watching:

Thanks mate, now I know he wasn't fibbing being cheeky like he is towards me haha. Do you have a link on our website I can see?

I don't currently but I think it has been posted already, may need to find it. Should be on the dot com.

Is Emery any chance to play a few of our academy players in the Carabao & FA cup this year though? If he does I'd like to see Willock, Nketiah, Zelalem get a run at least.

They will likely get run outs in the EL and the Carabao in the near future. Not sure about Zelalem, he has literally no match fitness and is coming back from a torn ACL that's kept him out for well over a year. He will need a PL2 game or two to find his groove. But we should see both Nketiah and Smith-Rowe. Willock could feature aswell and he's looking confident and performing well. Nketiah is the one I tip to make a massive impact.

Also, Jeorge Bird thinks there's a chance that Tolaji Bola might get a surprise opportunity at LB. He's powerful and fast with a decent cross but defensively needs work. Same sort of situation as Osei-Tutu last year. If he improves at a similar rate, he might get a look in as LB is bare with all the injuries and Monreal slowly declining. If I were Emery though, i would probably keep an eye on Saka. Could have a great future at LB potentially unless he continues to explode as a forward.

 

[The_Playmaker]

Quite certain our coaches did pay attention to Zelalem's physicality, and you are vastly underestimating how hard it is to bulk up a person. You are speaking as if it's easy to turn Denilson into Vieira. Wenger mentioned a long time ago that you can only see if a player has the physical talent to make it when he is 18 years old, what could our coaches do to Zelalem when he's getting career ending injuries at that end?

I can't agree with that. He is an ectomorph in nature and also Ethiopian. Not really known for being muscular. However he had a good engine and agility. He severely lacked strength and it was obvious. You don't have to be big to be strong. He didn't need to bulk up as that doesn't determine strength. He needed to be much stronger than he was.

That has been addressed recently and you can see the physical change taking place in our young players. Look at ESR, Nelson, Willock, Nketiah, Sheaf. You can physically see the change in them from pictures aging from 16 to 18. Zelalem basically stayed the same from 16 till his injury. He looks much stronger now. I'm intrigued to see what he is like now.

 

[MutableEarth]

I can't agree with that. He is an ectomorph in nature and also Ethiopian. Not really known for being muscular. However he had a good engine and agility. He severely lacked strength and it was obvious. You don't have to be big to be strong. He didn't need to bulk up as that doesn't determine strength. He needed to be much stronger than he was.

That has been addressed recently and you can see the physical change taking place in our young players. Look at ESR, Nelson, Willock, Nketiah, Sheaf. You can physically see the change in them from pictures aging from 16 to 18. Zelalem basically stayed the same from 16 till his injury. He looks much stronger now. I'm intrigued to see what he is like now.

To be fair, the youth team is a lot bigger now than it has been before. Guys like Bola, Oluwu, Ballard, Gilmour, John-Jules, Saka, Amaechi, Smith-Rowe, Willock, Sheaf - all 6ft plus. Only Saka and Amaechi are sub-6ft, and even then, both are about 5'11 and very well built. Osei-Tutu aswell. Nketiah is pretty strong for his wiry 5'10 frame. Only one who looks quite little in comparison is Pleguezuelo surprisingly. This is one of our most physically dominant set-ups in a while, only Chelsea can boast a truly more dominant team physically. Think Zelalem's new frame will fit right in to be honest, and I'm equally intrigued to see how he looks. There are few better at progressing the ball at the club, he's an expert at it.

EDIT: Do people still use somatypes?? Haven't heard/seen the word Ectomorph in a while!

 

[The_Playmaker]

To be fair, the youth team is a lot bigger now than it has been before. Guys like Bola, Oluwu, Ballard, Gilmour, John-Jules, Saka, Amaechi, Smith-Rowe, Willock, Sheaf - all 6ft plus. Only Saka and Amaechi are sub-6ft, and even then, both are about 5'11 and very well built. Osei-Tutu aswell. Nketiah is pretty strong for his wiry 5'10 frame. Only one who looks quite little in comparison is Pleguezuelo surprisingly. This is one of our most physically dominant set-ups in a while, only Chelsea can boast a truly more dominant team physically. Think Zelalem's new frame will fit right in to be honest, and I'm equally intrigued to see how he looks. There are few better at progressing the ball at the club, he's an expert at it.

EDIT: Do people still use somatypes?? Haven't heard/seen the word Ectomorph in a while!

Point is they are paying much more attention to detail now. Zelalem is basically 6 ft, so is ESR, but the way ESR has worked on his body on the past 3 years is evident. He is so much stronger. That video you posted shows just how good Zelalem is on the ball. Superior to anyone in Central midfield that we have.

 

[Relic]

@Aussie_gunner123 @MutableEarth

Lost this 3-1 vs Chelsea, but Same Greenwood got an assist.

Timestamped:

 

[MutableEarth]

Point is they are paying much more attention to detail now. Zelalem is basically 6 ft, so is ESR, but the way ESR has worked on his body on the past 3 years is evident. He is so much stronger. That video you posted shows just how good Zelalem is on the ball. Superior to anyone in Central midfield that we have.

Yeah, Smith-Rowe definitely does look stronger and more powerful. RE the compilation; I liked the interceptions too. I remember this game quite well, Nelson scored a decent finish and Zelalem&AMN absolutely ran the midfield all game. I'm sure I've got posts about it about a 100 or so pages back . It's the kind of passes he plays aswell, effortlessly finds the forwards. The kind of play that gets Xhaka a pass when he's having a ropey game!

@Aussie_gunner123 @MutableEarth

Lost this 3-1 vs Chelsea, but Same Greenwood got an assist.

Timestamped:

McEneff looked pretty decent in a couple of those clips, nice cross from Greenwood too.

It's great to see Trae Coyle back though. He should have been the star of the 2017 scholars but he's had a terrible time with injuries of late. He's a top quality technician, and one can only hope he finds his way into the U23 team. Real elegant player at his best, with good athleticism and a great eye for goal.

 

[Relic]

A couple more vids for U-18s

 

[MutableEarth]

One of the few players who I would actually like to see end up at full back eventually. Could be a world class Attacking LB.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

One of the few players who I would actually like to see end up at full back eventually. Could be a world class Attacking LB.

This kid is a beast.

But yeah why not make him lb. Not like we like to play with insanely skilled dribbling wingers.

 

[MutableEarth]

This kid is a beast.

But yeah why not make him lb. Not like we like to play with insanely skilled dribbling wingers.

Could easily be a really awesome winger, but he could also be a really awesome LB. With Nelson and Amaechi both being pretty skilled dribblers themselves, it's a pretty easy path for Saka if he's given it. Not like our full-backs are instructed to stay back - Monreal has an avalanche of goals of late. He'd be an incredibly powerful weapon. An extra dribbler at full back. I can see why AMN was such an attractive proposition as a full-back - difference is he's already pretty cemented his playstyle as a midfielder. Saka already has extensive time in a full-back position in comparison.

I think Saka will be one of our dead certs, but it could be LW, RW or LB, and LB is an easier and potentially more productive path for him. Will be interesting to see how that happens, but either option is perfectly fine with me.

 

[Football Manager]

tactically smart, and diligent with the ball - playing some nice tidy passes and creating the right angles for his teammates.

Sounds like a good player. Can’t wait to see him playing for the first team.

The rest have mostly been B2Bs shoehorned in.

Change them into full backs, wingers or strikers. Or sell them to Tony Pulis’ team.