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The Under-23s Thread

Symbia

Active Member
They can't stop winning now! Anyone who watched the game, any standout players?
Cotterell was great, most attacks were channelled through him.
Akintola was surprisingly great at the center of the park.
Moller scored the goal with his both eyes closed, was that easy for him. Was quiet otherwise.
Taylor-Hert did great too.
Others were just average.
Pablo is clearly not Arsenal quality.
 

Vanfrothan

Active Member
Cotterell was great, most attacks were channelled through him.
Akintola was surprisingly great at the center of the park.
Moller scored the goal with his both eyes closed, was that easy for him. Was quiet otherwise.
Taylor-Hert did great too.
Others were just average.
Pablo is clearly not Arsenal quality.

Thank you!

Think Cottrell could be one that just sneaks up on the first team. Always seems to play well but doesn't get the hype of some of his teammates.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
I really enjoyed that game, was nice to see a technical Arsenal team able to fend off a strong athletic and direct team like Derby U23.

I was very impressed with Cottrell, Cirjan and Azeez in particular - they ran the game and linked up extremely well with Moller, who was also quite impressive. What I picked up from the game:

- Azeez has a really diverse skillset. He performed his #8 role to perfection today, making a lot of lung-bursting runs and creating space where possible. He was always able to receive and progress the play and he enabled Cottrell and Cirjan to get into the game as much as possible along with Akinola (who had a mixed performance but did a lot of good work too). He looks like he's playing with a lot more impetus now, so we're seeing him improve his performances quickly.

- Cottrell is one of the most underrated players, if not THE most, in the whole academy. He was Wilshere-esque today, albeit a bit greedy towards the end. But he drove forward, was calm in tight spaces, and fought from the front. He played like he was the captain. Also goes without saying but his technical quality is very high. Some of his touches were superb.

- Saliba had a pretty decent game. There were moments of trouble but he was composed all game and showed some decent progressive play throughout the game.

- Moller is a really interesting talent. Not only is he extremely tall but he's deceptively quick and covers ground faster than you would expect a 6'5 target man to cover. Most impressive is his play on the deck though. Brings the ball down and brings people into play with ease.

- I think the 3 biggest winners coming out of the game for me were Taylor-Hart, Norton-Cuffy and Cirjan. Cirjan was a MOTM contender today, he was almost faultless technically. He's unbelievably comfortable in tight spaces, very technical and uses the ball well for a young man. I would keep an eye out. He's got sweet technique and good acceleration.

- Taylor-Hart really exploded in that 2nd half for me. He wasn't in the game much initially apart from the two penalty incidents but after about 40 mins or so he started to be a bigger influence on proceedings. By the hour mark, he was causing trouble every time he got on the ball. Got a nice goal and nearly scored another excellent goal when he showed how skillful he is and hit a nice shot on his weak foot that the goalie saved. He's got a lot of competition but he's one to watch in the wide areas.

- Norton-Cuffy had a very strong 2nd half in which he showed great forward movement, good acceleration, excellent physical presence and comfortable technique in possession. He's very similar to the injured Oyegoke and having the both of them is very much overkill. We are definitely not hurting for RBs.
 

BigPoppaPump

Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
I managed to record most of the game for anyone that didn't watch it. There are a couple jumps here and there... sorry about that. My buxom boy toy @BigPoppaPump sent me a bounty of booty pics whilst the game was running. Almost crashed my internet connection.


Your jokes are so dead man, you got no banter other than acting gay. You're like stuck in year 9.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
I doubt Lewis and Cirjan will make it here. Lewis simply not talented enough, Cirjan will prob go the route of his comrade Dragomir.
Why not? I think they have a chance to.

We have talented young players in the first team like Saka and Martinelli. (Nelson and ESR are alright, but they need to show more.)

And we also have Matt Smith, Coyle, John Jules, Moller, Lewis, Cottrell, Cirjan, Salah, Hutchinson, Patino, Flores, who are also very talented players. (Azeez and Taylor-Hart have to improve on their technical play.)

Are they all going to make it here? Of course not. But if talentless players like nketiah/willock/niles are playing for the first team, I don’t see why these players can’t, they are much more talented.
 
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Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
Why not? I think they have a chance to.

We have talented young players in the first team like Saka and Martinelli. (Nelson and ESR are alright, but they need to show more.)

And we also have Matt Smith, Coyle, John Jules, Moller, Lewis, Cottrell, Cirjan, Salah, Hutchinson, Patino, Flores, who are also very talented players. (Azeez and Taylor-Hart have to improve on their technical play.)

Are they all going to make it here? Of course not. But if talentless players like nketiah/willock/niles are playing for the first team, I don’t see why these players can’t, they are much more talented.

Cirjan is talented, but just don't see him getting too many chances to breakthrough. I think Cottrell is gonna get most of the chances, he deserves it too.

I don't believe Lewis is talented enough to make it here. All those guys you mentioned are very talented and intelligent players, especially Hutchinson, Matt Smith (lacks athleticism though), Patino and Cottrell (lacks size, but he is a fighter). Don't see Salah making it here either, Moller is a pretty interesting prospect though.

Taylor-Hart and Azeez are the most technically gifted prospects we have at the club, some sloppy play here and there does not negate the level of technique they possess.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Cirjan is talented, but just don't see him getting too many chances to breakthrough. I think Cottrell is gonna get most of the chances, he deserves it too.

I don't believe Lewis is talented enough to make it here. All those guys you mentioned are very talented and intelligent players, especially Hutchinson, Matt Smith (lacks athleticism though), Patino and Cottrell (lacks size, but he is a fighter). Don't see Salah making it here either, Moller is a pretty interesting prospect though.

Taylor-Hart and Azeez are the most technically gifted prospects we have at the club, some sloppy play here and there does not negate the level of technique they possess.
Silva, Fabregas, Coutinho, Cazorla, Nasri, Hleb, Rosicky, Arshavin, Firmino, Son, van Persie, Suarez, Torres, Aguero, Thiago, Sane, Mahrez, Ziyech, Mata, Jesus, Gundogan, Fernandinho.....
 
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Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
Silva, Fabregas, Coutinho, Cazorla, Nasri, Hleb, Rosicky, Arshavin, Firmino, Son, van Persie, Suarez, Torres, Aguero......

All those guys have a combination of balance, agility and quickness. Young RVP was pretty fast too.

Matt Smith is not very quick, not strong and doesn't have ridiculous balance like a Cazorla to make up for it.

Fabregas is the closest one, but we all know he was a freak in terms of technique and composure even as a teenager.

Matt Smith is not on that level. Although I like him, he has good vision and usually makes very good decisions on the ball.

You could have even used Xavi and Busquets as better examples, but those guys are also the expectation and not the rule, plus the level of physicality in the EPL is different from the other leagues.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
All those guys have a combination of balance, agility and quickness. Young RVP was pretty fast too.

Matt Smith is not very quick, not strong and doesn't have ridiculous balance like a Cazorla to make up for it.

Fabregas is the closest one, but we all know he was a freak in terms of technique and composure even as a teenager.

Matt Smith is not on that level. Although I like him, he has good vision and usually makes very good decisions on the ball.

You could have even used Xavi and Busquets as better examples, but those guys are also the expectation and not the rule, plus the level of physicality in the EPL is different from the other leagues.
Then matt smith should step up his technique to become fabregas/iniesta/busquets/xavi.

As I have mentioned, if talentless players like nketiah, willock and niles can play for the first team, anyone on my list can make it here, because they are a lot more talented.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
I really enjoyed that game, was nice to see a technical Arsenal team able to fend off a strong athletic and direct team like Derby U23.

I was very impressed with Cottrell, Cirjan and Azeez in particular - they ran the game and linked up extremely well with Moller, who was also quite impressive. What I picked up from the game:

- Azeez has a really diverse skillset. He performed his #8 role to perfection today, making a lot of lung-bursting runs and creating space where possible. He was always able to receive and progress the play and he enabled Cottrell and Cirjan to get into the game as much as possible along with Akinola (who had a mixed performance but did a lot of good work too). He looks like he's playing with a lot more impetus now, so we're seeing him improve his performances quickly.

- Cottrell is one of the most underrated players, if not THE most, in the whole academy. He was Wilshere-esque today, albeit a bit greedy towards the end. But he drove forward, was calm in tight spaces, and fought from the front. He played like he was the captain. Also goes without saying but his technical quality is very high. Some of his touches were superb.

- Saliba had a pretty decent game. There were moments of trouble but he was composed all game and showed some decent progressive play throughout the game.

- Moller is a really interesting talent. Not only is he extremely tall but he's deceptively quick and covers ground faster than you would expect a 6'5 target man to cover. Most impressive is his play on the deck though. Brings the ball down and brings people into play with ease.

- I think the 3 biggest winners coming out of the game for me were Taylor-Hart, Norton-Cuffy and Cirjan. Cirjan was a MOTM contender today, he was almost faultless technically. He's unbelievably comfortable in tight spaces, very technical and uses the ball well for a young man. I would keep an eye out. He's got sweet technique and good acceleration.

- Taylor-Hart really exploded in that 2nd half for me. He wasn't in the game much initially apart from the two penalty incidents but after about 40 mins or so he started to be a bigger influence on proceedings. By the hour mark, he was causing trouble every time he got on the ball. Got a nice goal and nearly scored another excellent goal when he showed how skillful he is and hit a nice shot on his weak foot that the goalie saved. He's got a lot of competition but he's one to watch in the wide areas.

- Norton-Cuffy had a very strong 2nd half in which he showed great forward movement, good acceleration, excellent physical presence and comfortable technique in possession. He's very similar to the injured Oyegoke and having the both of them is very much overkill. We are definitely not hurting for RBs.

I was most impressed by Azeez. I think he fits that 8 role more than playing deeper in midfield.

He has too many good attributes to contribute to the attack to play that deep. He didn't even display his impressive shooting technique in this game.

Patino fits the DLP role best, Cirjan and Cottrell are both the creative outlets.

Azeez showed a very good engine throughout and combined well with everyone. Every time you watch him, it's clear there is more that he can show.

I think Arteta will really love a player like him. He has the technique, athleticism and intelligence to be really dangerous.

Moller looks good, I really liked how calm he was on the ball, always did a good job bringing others into play.

Really happy to have Balogun, John-Jules and Moller as forward options.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
I was most impressed by Azeez. I think he fits that 8 role more than playing deeper in midfield.

He has too many good attributes to contribute to the attack to play that deep. He didn't even display his impressive shooting technique in this game.

Patino fits the DLP role best, Cirjan and Cottrell are both the creative outlets.

Azeez showed a very good engine throughout and combined well with everyone. Every time you watch him, it's clear there is more that he can show.

I think Arteta will really love a player like him. He has the technique, athleticism and intelligence to be really dangerous.

Moller looks good, I really liked how calm he was on the ball, always did a good job bringing others into play.

Really happy to have Balogun, John-Jules and Moller as forward options.
Who cares about engine?
Busquets, Pirlo, Iniesta, Xavi.....
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
I was most impressed by Azeez. I think he fits that 8 role more than playing deeper in midfield.

He has too many good attributes to contribute to the attack to play that deep. He didn't even display his impressive shooting technique in this game.

Patino fits the DLP role best, Cirjan and Cottrell are both the creative outlets.

Azeez showed a very good engine throughout and combined well with everyone. Every time you watch him, it's clear there is more that he can show.

I think Arteta will really love a player like him. He has the technique, athleticism and intelligence to be really dangerous.

Moller looks good, I really liked how calm he was on the ball, always did a good job bringing others into play.

Really happy to have Balogun, John-Jules and Moller as forward options.
Yeah, I really like Azeez as an #8. His movement is really impressive and an underrated feature of his game that I think would be really useful in the first team (still needs time to cook before that personally). I think naturally he will progress towards playing deeper but perhaps much later in his career than sooner.

I agree with your assessment on Patino though, he looks more suited to be a DLP in the short and long term, just based off of his style of play. Cirjan and Cottrell face a battle with each other to be the relevant one of the two. It would be nice to have both of them as we need more technicians going forward but realistically I think one will leave. Cirjan is a lot more talented than Dragomir however so it's a close call but Cottrell is underrated and very good at what he does.

I'm more interested, however, with whatever happens with Taylor-Hart. I'm almost certain he will be offered a deal, but will he stay? And if he does, what do we do with him? We're having a crisis in attack and the likelihood is that money gets thrown at the problem to a degree, plus we already have young attackers at the club vying for a spot. It becomes less clear whether lads like Taylor-Hart and co behind him have a significant pathway. I think a good litmus test will be whether Balogun eventually signs. I think there's a real player in Taylor-Hart and I would go pretty far to ensure he stays.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
Yeah, I really like Azeez as an #8. His movement is really impressive and an underrated feature of his game that I think would be really useful in the first team (still needs time to cook before that personally). I think naturally he will progress towards playing deeper but perhaps much later in his career than sooner.

I agree with your assessment on Patino though, he looks more suited to be a DLP in the short and long term, just based off of his style of play. Cirjan and Cottrell face a battle with each other to be the relevant one of the two. It would be nice to have both of them as we need more technicians going forward but realistically I think one will leave. Cirjan is a lot more talented than Dragomir however so it's a close call but Cottrell is underrated and very good at what he does.

I'm more interested, however, with whatever happens with Taylor-Hart. I'm almost certain he will be offered a deal, but will he stay? And if he does, what do we do with him? We're having a crisis in attack and the likelihood is that money gets thrown at the problem to a degree, plus we already have young attackers at the club vying for a spot. It becomes less clear whether lads like Taylor-Hart and co behind him have a significant pathway. I think a good litmus test will be whether Balogun eventually signs. I think there's a real player in Taylor-Hart and I would go pretty far to ensure he stays.

I think a lot of people simply underrate what happens off the ball in attack and defense.

That's why I said Azeez was the most impressive to me cause he never stopped moving.

And he did very well combining with the other midfielders and attackers.

That 8 spot will be interesting cause it's a position I can see Willock, Smith-Rowe, Azeez and Bandeira really fighting for.

Even Saka can prob do a decent job there if given the chance. I would be more difficult for Taylor-Hart to break through, Nelson is similar to him and he is still just 20/21. Hart is already 18.

Unless we decide Nelson isn't good enough in the next year or send him out on loan for a year or two, it would be hard for many other young wingers to get a chance.

We have Saka, Nelson, Willian, Pepe, Martinelli all fighting for those positions.

I think there is a chance Balogun signs, but even if he doesn't I like what I seen from Moller so far, plus John-Jules and Khayon Edwards are still available.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
I think a lot of people simply underrate what happens off the ball in attack and defense.

That's why I said Azeez was the most impressive to me cause he never stopped moving.

And he did very well combining with the other midfielders and attackers.

That 8 spot will be interesting cause it's a position I can see Willock, Smith-Rowe, Azeez and Bandeira really fighting for.

Even Saka can prob do a decent job there if given the chance. I would be more difficult for Taylor-Hart to break through, Nelson is similar to him and he is still just 20/21. Hart is already 18.

Unless we decide Nelson isn't good enough in the next year or send him out on loan for a year or two, it would be hard for many other young wingers to get a chance.

We have Saka, Nelson, Willian, Pepe, Martinelli all fighting for those positions.

I think there is a chance Balogun signs, but even if he doesn't I like what I seen from Moller so far, plus John-Jules and Khayon Edwards are still available.
Matt Smith, Cirjan, Patino, Cottrell are more talented than Azeez.

And people always say how technical Nelson/Taylor-Hart/Özil/Van de beek is. I don’t even get it. I dont see why they are called technical players. To me it’s iniesta, busquets, Nasri, Hleb, Cazorla, Silva, Coutinho.....
 
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