General Reserves Talk

[MutableEarth]

Second goal is a bit of a rocket!

Matt Smith having an impressive season, 3 assists today. Will be interesting to see how his performances translate to u23 level, hopefully Coyle is back on track now and can replicate this next season!

Smith will take a while to look the business at U23 IMO, in fact I think he'd probably do a lot better in a first team environment with more experienced players protecting him - once he does acclimatize though, he'll look as impressive as he does at U18 level. He's very clever and technical, really good passer of the ball at short and long distances - and his movement off the ball seems to get better with every game too. It will be interesting to see Azeez with a full season as gangster number 1 next season for the U18s and the contrast with Smith - Azeez is as good a technician but also a bigger, more powerful athlete.

As for Trae Coyle, I would hope that his rebuild continues into next season. Cannot stress this enough - he was considered as promising, if not more, than Reiss Nelson at a time when Nelson was already considered a complete dead cert to be an Arsenal first teamer. Even go back and read some of my posts on him. Immense technical talent, real Rolls Royce of a player at his strongest. Such a shame his injuries slowed him down as much as they have. There's still time for him here, and I would hope he fulfills his vast potential here. He could seriously reinvent himself as a slightly deeper midfielder - there's a lot you can do with a talent like Coyle. He just really needs to stay fit for as long as possible. U23 football beckons for him next season, and he'll have more than enough time as the big guns go on loan finally.

he looks at least 24 to me

It's just the beard .

 

[Football Manager]

Smith will take a while to look the business at U23 IMO, in fact I think he'd probably do a lot better in a first team environment with more experienced players protecting him - once he does acclimatize though, he'll look as impressive as he does at U18 level. He's very clever and technical, really good passer of the ball at short and long distances - and his movement off the ball seems to get better with every game too. It will be interesting to see Azeez with a full season as gangster number 1 next season for the U18s and the contrast with Smith - Azeez is as good a technician but also a bigger, more powerful athlete.

As for Trae Coyle, I would hope that his rebuild continues into next season. Cannot stress this enough - he was considered as promising, if not more, than Reiss Nelson at a time when Nelson was already considered a complete dead cert to be an Arsenal first teamer. Even go back and read some of my posts on him. Immense technical talent, real Rolls Royce of a player at his strongest. Such a shame his injuries slowed him down as much as they have. There's still time for him here, and I would hope he fulfills his vast potential here. He could seriously reinvent himself as a slightly deeper midfielder - there's a lot you can do with a talent like Coyle. He just really needs to stay fit for as long as possible. U23 football beckons for him next season, and he'll have more than enough time as the big guns go on loan finally.


It's just the beard .

Matt Smith is really a special talent. He is the best young player we have in the club.
I hope we don’t destroy him by loaning him out to an English club, like we did with wilshere.

Wilshere abandoned all his talent and try to be a gerrard/lampard after the loan. He was more physical and aggressive than he was, and cover more grounds on the pitch, but his skills, close control, passing, techniques, football intelligent...didn’t really improved since then.
I’m glad that we have sent our youngsters to Germany (Spain would be great too), so that they can actually learn something useful.

The last thing you want from your young winger, is them trying to forget the Hleb like dribble, and learn the incorrect (Milner/Kyut) way of playing football.

 

[MutableEarth]

Matt Smith is really a special talent. He is the best young player we have in the club.
I hope we won’t destroy him by loaning him out to an English club, like we did with wilshere.
Wilshere abandoned all his talent and try to be gerrard/lampard after the loan. He was more physical and aggressive than he was, and cover more grounds on the pitch, but his skills, passing, techniques, football intelligent...didn’t really improved since then.
I’m glad that we have sent our youngsters to Germany (Spain would be great too), so that they can actually learn something useful.

Wilshere always wanted to be like Gerrard to be fair to him. It was definitely to his detriment IMO that he did not continue playing as a more advanced midfielder throughout his development. I didn't mind his being physical but he definitely tried to amp it up after the first injury, which probably did not help his development.

With Smith, he's not quite Wilshere-like at the same age. I see him as the type of midfielder who will advance play through smart football and passing compared to the risk-taking brilliance of Wilshere. He's handy at evading pressure in deep positions and has good timing in terms of releasing the ball. I definitely see him as one of our more interesting talents. The likes of Saka, Amaechi, Balogun, Musah and even John-Jules to an extent are obvious look-ins, but someone like Smith definitely has the potential to go completely under the radar and end up in a very advantageous position. I do think, however, that he will need to be just a tiny bit more physical as he progresses. Emery likes his midfielders to be sturdier, and even Torreira - a short player - makes up for that with an aggressive, bullish style of play. Smith has found it difficult to get to grips with the physical nature of U23 football in the short amount of time he's had so far, but I'd imagine next season he will not only look much stronger but become a mainstay in that midfield. It will be interesting to see how that midfield looks - it will likely be Smith and Olayinka IMO, with the latter providing the necessary steel and physicality.

It's also worth noting that behind Smith is some serious competition in midfield - Miguel Azeez and Yunus Musah are without a doubt 2 of the strongest CMs in their age group not just at Arsenal but England. They don't lack in the technical department and they are also more equipped for a physical game. Smith's advantage IMO is that he has the potential to dominate games with his passing - he has to lean on that strength IMO and maximize all his technical potential. The ball always moves quicker than the man, and the man who moves the ball quicker than anyone is king in a progressive midfield.

One thing is for certain - having Matt Smith, Miguel Azeez and Yunus Musah as midfield options going into the next couple of seasons is an extremely good thing for the club.

 

[HBL]

We were 2-0 down with 5 mins to go...

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Yeah ok wtf? We were 0-2 under at 85 minute and won the game. Jesus.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Our two last games at u18 are against Reading who sit in 10th place(of 12 places) and then Fulham. I think both are away games. Fulham sit in 7th place I think and they do have some interesting talents coming through too.

We have won 18 games and lost 2. Sp**s have won 16 games, 2 draws and 1 loss and they have game in hand on us. We have similar GD, us have 72 and they have 73.

So both games are must win unless if Sp**s lose the game in hand. Then we would have breathing room for one loss. COYG!

 

[MutableEarth]

That is a huge win for the U18s. Sp**s have been right up there all season, we have done well to get a victory. Now we need to be steady and win the last 2 games and the southern league is ours. I'm not sure who we will face in the overall north v South play off but if we win that playoff, we will qualify for the UEFA Youth League even if we fail to make CL. We would be facing one of Derby, Liverpool or Man City.

Edit to add, Ben Cottrell looks a player. Dortmund been scouting him.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

 

[Tosker]

Any more of this and I fear I may start to feel sorry for Sp**s fans

 

[neimad]

Yeah ok wtf? We were 0-2 under at 85 minute and won the game. Jesus.

One word?

"SPURSY" :rofl:

 

[MutableEarth]

https://player.arsenal.com/video/u-18s-tottenham-h-highlights

Cottrell had a huge hand in all 3 goals. Turned up on the big occasion. Another sleeper in the ranks. Talent everywhere at Hale End.

Mark McGuiness also coming to the fore. Just signed his pro deal today. Coyle back in form for the U18s. Just two more wins and another win in the playoff final after that. What a season it's been for the U18s. Only 2 losses all season, 75 goals scored over 20 games. At least 20 of those goals coming from Flo Balogun.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

https://player.arsenal.com/video/u-18s-tottenham-h-highlights

Cottrell had a huge hand in all 3 goals. Turned up on the big occasion. Another sleeper in the ranks. Talent everywhere at Hale End.

Mark McGuiness also coming to the fore. Just signed his pro deal today. Coyle back in form for the U18s. Just two more wins and another win in the playoff final after that. What a season it's been for the U18s. Only 2 losses all season, 75 goals scored over 20 games. At least 20 of those goals coming from Flo Balogun.

Such a great work from the coaches with all these poverty options they had.

Matt Smith has been my favorite at u18 level while Saka has been at u23 level. I believe they can make it, although it might be difficult for Matt Smith but he is such a unique player, would be glad to see him make it at highest level! Would be something different!

 

[MutableEarth]

Such a great work from the coaches with all these poverty options they had.

Matt Smith has been my favorite at u18 level while Saka has been at u23 level. I believe they can make it, although it might be difficult for Matt Smith but he is such a unique player, would be glad to see him make it at highest level! Would be something different!

Quite a few of those guys could easily make a career here if opportunity grants it. Smith, Cottrell, Clarke, McGuiness etc - all very good players and a couple have been performing well since last season. We'll see what happens with Smith when he turns 19 but all it takes is a good run for the U23s and a first team cameo in some capacity. How he deals with physical opposition from this point will be of interest. Having a player of his technical quality and appreciation of space would be a strong asset to our midfield - I just wonder if his lack of physical presence will count against him. I hope not!

Also, don't take any notice of people calling our academy "poverty". They don't know what they're talking about regarding this so I tune them out accordingly. PL team's failure to make the most of the talent they produce is not because of poor quality or lack of talent. Chelsea should be a perfect example of this - their reluctance to bring through their own talent betrays the monstrous ability their homegrown talents actually have.

EDIT: Zac Swanson has also signed a new deal. Been a very versatile presence for the U18s and could end up being a solid U23 next season, much in the same way James Olayinka has.

 

[Jellon Lamb]

Surprised nobody has posted this. Harry Clarke took to Twitter, calling the Sp**s “bottlejobs”, after the comeback.....

http://dailycannon.com/2019/04/arse...tweet-after-tottenham-hotspur-u18-bottle-job/

 

[HBL]

Former academy player continuing to put in good performances at Empoli! Two impressive performances against Napoli/Juve in the last two games, added two assists today as well. Looking like a great player.

 

[Maybe]

Former academy player continuing to put in good performances at Empoli! Two impressive performances against Napoli/Juve in the last two games, added two assists today as well. Looking like a great player.

I was following him thought this season but I don't see him as a big attacking threat, he is more Torreira type of player.
Not keeping him and Gnabry were big mistakes and more of that will follow.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Not keeping him and Gnabry were big mistakes and more of that will follow.

We tried to keep Gnabry but it was hard after Bayern came calling.

Don't know the story of Bennacer, we signed him for u23 and I think he got a short cameo with the first team very soon, then we didn't see him a lot. He was playing well with u23 when we let him go.

 

[al-Ustaadh]

MIND THE GAP.

 

[Maybe]

We tried to keep Gnabry but it was hard after Bayern came calling.

Don't know the story of Bennacer, we signed him for u23 and I think he got a short cameo with the first team very soon, then we didn't see him a lot. He was playing well with u23 when we let him go.

It wasn't much of an effort, we just gave him a couple of games when injuries forced Wenger to do so, and after that he wasn't part of the first team anymore, so good decision for him to leave the club.
Bennacer was looking good but the club decided he wasn't good enough and had players like AMN and Iwobi coming in. Bad choice if you ask me as there was enough space for one more young player in the first team.

 

[9jagooner]

Some of these situations also depend on the player. We don't know what goes on behind the scenes but sometimes, a player might feel he's ready to play week in week out at first team level and would rather take his chances with a lower league/level club than wait around and only train with the first team