Youth recruitment policy- yay or nay?

[RunTheTrap]

When you sign young players, you have to ask if you’re the right environment to develop these talents. We have signed our fair share of losers but we have also messed up some career trajectories. I know some people dislike Bellerin, but I honestly feel we let him down a bit. He was playing far too many games while he was still growing and now his body is shot. Xhaka is a back three midfielder who needs an athletic partner next to him to truly strive. Instead, we gave him Coquelin, Carzola, Ramsey, Cellabos, Torreria, Guendouzi, Partey and Elneny. All of those players have different strengths and weaknesses and would compile differently to the Swiss. Why did we not do the appropriate homework to find the right partner for him? Laca is a 5”9 2nd striker who strives with runners beside him. But we got him trying to do a poor Firmino impression. Why is Auba being played out wide when he hasn’t been a wide forward since his St. Etienne days. I could go on and on but we buy players and have no idea on how the fit or how we develop them. That’s why I’m low-key impressed and worried with the Tomiyasu signing. He clearly helps White out. However, when signing highly specialised players there’s an issue whereby the new coach may not be in favour for the speciality.

 

[Macho]

I think the biggest revelation in recent days is that this strategy didn’t come from Arteta.

Club mouthpieces like Ornstein and even Arteta himself (interview before the City game) revealed that this project was sold to him.

Bit of blame game going on?
Or KSE (and Edu) seeing this window as an opportunity to future proof the club?

Whilst Arteta knows enough about English football to want and push for Ben White & Ramsdale, I highly doubt he requested Tavares or Sambi for eg once I really scrutinise things.

 

[Barry]

I think the biggest revelation in recent days is that this strategy didn’t come from Arteta.

Club mouthpieces like Ornstein and even Arteta himself (interview before the City game) revealed that this project was sold to him.

Bit of blame game going on?
Or KSE (and Edu) seeing this window as an opportunity to future proof the club?

Whilst Arteta knows enough about English football to want and push for Ben White & Ramsdale, I highly doubt he requested Tavares or Sambi for eg once I really scrutinise things.

Hadn't seen that interview, it's interesting though... Think it maybe looks even worse on Arteta if he was against the youth "project signings" (horrible name but let's go with it).

We know that he was instrumental in some of the older dross from the last window, would have been at least a bit encouraging if he had recognised the need for a different approach. I mean it's all speculation really - maybe behind the scenes Arteta was pushing hard for Bissouma but got Lokonga & Tavares instead... in which case we'd all be supporting him but know one knows at this point in time.

 

[dashsnow17]

At the beginning of the summer I didn't think we needed a large number of young players for the future, cos I thought we already had quite a lot of young players, I thought we needed like three real quality first XI players at RB, CM and in attack. Like a guy like prime Alexis would make way more difference than six young prospects.

Having said that maybe they just couldn't get those prime quality players. It's the right strategy, but they should have done it like three years ago already.

 

[Macho]

Hadn't seen that interview, it's interesting though... Think it maybe looks even worse on Arteta if he was against the youth "project signings" (horrible name but let's go with it).

We know that he was instrumental in some of the older dross from the last window, would have been at least a bit encouraging if he had recognised the need for a different approach. I mean it's all speculation really - maybe behind the scenes Arteta was pushing hard for Bissouma but got Lokonga & Tavares instead... in which case we'd all be supporting him but know one knows at this point in time.

I don't think he was against it, I think it's more him worrying about the now because he knows what is going on at the moment just can't run.

Apparently they assured him that he's the guy and these sort of lows are expected lol (this part is according to Ornstein). It's interesting, I've realised I am just a fan and can't see everything behind the scenes so there is no use in getting mad.

 

[Oxeki]

It's not a plan. It's just face-saving. Last year, Arteta was adamant that we'll win the CL in 3 years, now all of a sudden he's now trying to shove project youth down our throats. He brought in Mari and binned Saliba. He extended Xhaka and banished Guendouzi. He was even trying to get Mustafi renewed. All indication points to the fact that he would have renewed Elneny if not for fans' backlash.

Everytime we have a bad result, he's going to bring out this excuse ; "It's a youth project and it will take 2-3 years to come to fruition"

The whole thing is a scam. Arteta and Edu are the last people you'd ever trust with a youth project.

 

[Hunta]

It’s frustrating because it’s what Arsenal should have been doing for years. Wenger was thinking short term towards the end trying to get us back in the top four, he deserved that but when he left we should have ripped it up.

Afterwards we’ve just had too many different strategies. Buying a mixture of players like Guendouzi, Torreira, Leno and Sokratis initially. Then going big on Pepe, Gabriel and Partey. Now we’re trying some Brexit rebuild.

Next summer, no matter who the coach is, we need to bring in two or three game changers, a couple of midfielders and a ST - our Lukaku. It’s common sense that they should be players we can sell on, that’s what clubs like Dortmund and Leicester have been showing us for years.

 

[Hunta]

No more defenders should be brought in either (bar Saliba), if the coach asks for any type of defender they should be thrown through the window of Highbury House.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

It would probably be alright, signing young elite talents and surround them with some proper experience.

But we are signing at very best 130-150 PA talents. Pepe, Ødegaard, White, Martinelli, etc. These are not the very best, they are not even second best... And then the experience heads we are surrounding them with... Mari, Cedric, Elneny, The chuckle brothers.

It just isn't good enough IMO.

 

[Vanpayslip]

It’s a bit of a joke. Believing in youth yet Saliba keeps on being loaned out while £70 million plus has been spent on defenders this window. Martinez sold yet Ramsdale brought in for a higher fee.

It’s just a reactive scattergun approach.

Also, Edu is being a bit disingenuous when he wraps up this disaster of a window by selling it as a youth project. Wenger was doing that years ago and he actually knew exactly what he was doing. These two numpties on the other hand are buying players that might or might not work out.

 

[Riou]

It's not a plan. It's just face-saving.

This is the big worry, especially after what was said after Mikel won the FA cup.

With Arsène, you knew he wanted a youth project after 2006...with these 2 I am not sure, especially with Arteta, he doesn't seem to want that at all.

 

[TornadoTed]

It would probably be alright, signing young elite talents and surround them with some proper experience.

But we are signing at very best 130-150 PA talents. Pepe, Ødegaard, White, Martinelli, etc. These are not the very best, they are not even second best... And then the experience heads we are surrounding them with... Mari, Cedric, Elneny, The chuckle brothers.

It just isn't good enough IMO.

The trouble is as I mentioned on the previous page how do we sign the players who are 24-28 at the top of their game to compliment the talented youth.

The only players in that category we have signed in the last four years are Partey, Auba and I'm going to tentatively say Pepe. We had to pay double the wages for Partey and Auba and massively overpay for Pepe, neither of which are sustainable when we haven't had Champions League football for five years.

We really are in a troubling situation and the longer it goes on the worse it's going to get.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Even if I don't rate Guendouzi he is still u21 captain. You cant be selling project youth and then not building it around two bigger talents from France in Saliba and Guendouzi who are probably the best in the world at producing talents at the moment. You have Guendouzi and Saliba in your team this season and you could talk more talents in France coming to us.

 

[Riou]

In 2010/2011...Kos, Sagna, Clichy, Diaby and Nasri were all in our squad, some top French talent.

It annoyed me that we stopped having a good core of talented French players in our team, more or less just after this...that should be "our" country to shop in, considering how the great Arsenal and France teams of the late 90s and early 00s are linked.

So it's very annoying to cast both Saliba and Guendo out (especially William considering our current defence and outplay on him) miss when Arsenal was French, tbh.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

Like everything, it will depend on the quality of the manager. If Arteta proves to be a good manager this season it will work, he has the necessary tools at his disposal now, so it becomes very clear in terms of analysing Arteta's work this season: either it's a success or it's not, and he needs to be sacked. Then, should he prove not good enough this season, it will also depend on the quality of our replacement (one would hope it would be Potter or Gallardo or ten Hag in that case, but I do not trust this club to make the right decisions; I do not agree that Conte would be a good profile for this club to take it forward. We are not going to compete with Chelsea, City, United etc. with the exact same approach--loading squad with talent and working in the immediate short-term, which is Conte's approach--because they just have more economic power to carry it out with. We need to take a Liverpoolesque approach regardless with Arteta or the next manager).

Regarding this last point bolded, I appreciate that the decision makers at the club seem to appreciate this fact with their overall strategy since the disastrous hiring of Em*ry and poor post-Wenger transition with a clown like Sanllehí (won't even mention G*****s, who is the #1 reason we have declined as a club over the last decade and change), which is part of the reason I am not so sour on Josh Kroenke and Edu as most here, they seem to have identified the mistakes and taken a new, more sensible direction. Let's hope it works with Arteta because that is the best case scenario.

 

[tactica442]

130M on six young players. Why not spend 65m on two top layers (like Özil & Auba back then) that can immediately get into the starting XI? Real, Barca, and clubs in Ligue 1 have financial issues. I can't understand the best players the club is getting from elite clubs is Ødegaard.

 

[TornadoTed]

130M on six young players. Why not spend 65m on two top layers (like Özil & Auba back then) that can immediately get into the starting XI? Real, Barca, and clubs in Ligue 1 have financial issues. I can't understand the best players the club is getting from elite clubs is Ødegaard.

Yeah but we're a regular Champions League and top 4 club when Özil signed, we had to massively overpay wages to get Auba. We are a very different club now, we haven't had Champions League football for 5 seasons, no way top players in their prime are coming here.

We are in a position where the only players we are attractive to are young players on their way up or older players on their way down. Given a choice I prefer the former.

 

[Let's play Aubamawang]

Focusing on youth generally worked for AW. And it can't be any worse than our recruitment policy of the last couple of years, so I'm down for trying something different.

 

[akhil]

This strategy only works with the right coach in charge. They need to have have shortlist of viable coaches ready if things turn sour on the pitch.

 

[RunTheTrap]

I think the biggest revelation in recent days is that this strategy didn’t come from Arteta.

Club mouthpieces like Ornstein and even Arteta himself (interview before the City game) revealed that this project was sold to him.

Bit of blame game going on?
Or KSE (and Edu) seeing this window as an opportunity to future proof the club?

Whilst Arteta knows enough about English football to want and push for Ben White & Ramsdale, I highly doubt he requested Tavares or Sambi for eg once I really scrutinise things.

Arteta famously told Willian he could lift a CL trophy within three years. From 8th to champions of Europe. Mad. I too agree that the youth policy was definitely pushed on to Arteta. He always turned to experience in troubling times and now the club has told him to go back to their roots.
As for the signings:

Ben White was definitely a vanity signing from Arteta. You know Mikel was pissed with the Saliba questions and decided toreplace him. Could have given Luiz an another year if he really wanted to, but he didn’t.

Ramsdale. Arteta’s signing.

Lokonga. I’m leaning towards Arteta because of the Kompany link. However, Edu’s analytics team could’ve found him or Henry told him to sign him. I’ll say both Edu and Arteta.

Taveres. I am going to be honest here, anyone that’s a Portuguese speaker or Brazilian, I’m immediately giving it to Edu.

Ødegaard. Arteta’s signing.

Tomiyasu. Arteta’s signing, but I think Edu’s analytics team found him and recommended it.