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General Reserves Talk

  • Thread starter M+D
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teamsoutheast

Well-Known Member
Alll this willl hopefully be managed alot better with Edu and Per and our loan exec. Another thing I have noticed is there seems to be a shift to pushing our academy players through rather than bringing in young players from overseas which we used to do. The fruits are truly beginning to bear in our academy system. Soon it will be like us producing baked beans. :lol:
 

teamsoutheast

Well-Known Member
Is Matt Macey going to be 3rd choice goalkeeper for the first team this season? Iliev has gone on loan and we seem extremely short on GK's in both Reserve and 1st team. Ideally, Macey needs to be playing first team football now as he's 24 so should go on loan. Are Per/Edu on the lookout for a new goalkeeper to compete with Okonkwo?
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
I'm looking forward to next season for the u23s and u18s because the makeup of both teams are likely to look pretty different compared to the last couple of seasons with a few people remaining. I can see Saka and TJJ still getting games down there but will be a mostly new mid and backline. Coyle will probably start as well Burton and Olayinka. Smith will also be getting a few games here and there, while Olayinka could play a lot of games at RB. Will be interesting.

It's the u18s that will go through the most change though as the 2nd years go up. Azeez likely to be the ever present next season but I think Taylor-Hart could be the unheralded star this year and might even make an early step up to the u23s like Amaechi and Saka.
 

Arsenal1508

Mods are unethical! Özil, come assist me please!
The left back position is there for the taking. I still rate Monreal. Kolasinac is a Left Winger (very capable), not a left back.
 

Dutch D

Well-Known Member & FPL Champion 19/20
Thompson did well in the pre-season didn't he? Hope he slowly gets eased into the squad to deputise for Tierney. Would really like to see us develop a LB to compete with our new signing, rather than coming back in a year to buy another back-up.

We should aim to have as many academy prospects coming through as back-ups, rather than spending money on squad depth. Buy for the first XI, develop for the bench (with the aim of breaking through to the first XI of course).

Didnt we have another highly rated LB from Barcelona in the academy as well?
 

Impact

Established Member
Thompson did well in the pre-season didn't he? Hope he slowly gets eased into the squad to deputise for Tierney. Would really like to see us develop a LB to compete with our new signing, rather than coming back in a year to buy another back-up.

We should aim to have as many academy prospects coming through as back-ups, rather than spending money on squad depth. Buy for the first XI, develop for the bench (with the aim of breaking through to the first XI of course).

Didnt we have another highly rated LB from Barcelona in the academy as well?

The exact model I want and think we are trying to implement.

The LB in question is Joel Lopez, who is still only 17 so is a few years away at best from being first team ready. His first academy goal below:

 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
Thompson to Brentford then @MutableEarth


Thoughts?
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. His time in midfield really expanded his full-back play (good coaching from Ljungberg) and he became better at progressing play from the left flank - some of his passes down the line into the winger were seemingly simple yet impressive from a player who perhaps wasn't the most adept at this. He was also pretty good on the overlap. I don't know if his ceiling was starting LB though, so in that sense you could say it was a sacrificial sale worth making.

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.

@MutableEarth hand on heart do you think JOT will make it at Arsenal? Even as a backup to Bellerin.

Think he will be the key to releasing AMN.
I'm unsure as of now. He has played out of his skin for 2 seasons straight and been the most improved player down there yet not even had so much as a mention in that time. His loan to a 2nd division side seems to suggest that he doesn't have much of a future here. I like him but don't think the club rates him highly enough.
 
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