Zel Time has come

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

FFS, I'm a month older than him and he's taller than me.

He's fitter and richer too, but **** it, that inch must have come as a blow

You know what, Jury is ****ing hilarious .

Happy 17th birthday to Gedion! I turn 20 soon this dude makes me feel old as ****.

I think you need a good ol beating from the forum elders for saying that lol :- P

Not only have I been supporting the club for longer than your ages,
but I have kids (plural) that are older than many you as well.

Feel better now? :wink:

Well no! Now I'm jealous, the amount of glory you must've witnessed growing up . You got to see Wrighty and Denis at their peaks, live! You don't know how good you've got it. Last time we won something I was 10!

 

[Anzac]

Nope - I'm out here in The Antipodes - hence my user name.
I've NEVER seen us play in the flesh,
and I never got to watch us play with any regularity re pay TV until after 2006 - and I am currently without it for the 3rd time since then (priorities re family etc).

We only saw the FA Cup & WC Final as the only games shown on TV, let alone 'live'. The 1st WC they showed the Finals was '78 & I wagged school to watch the Final live. Anfield decider '89 was the 1st league game shown and live on pay TV.

As a 5 yr old when I started playing we were on full size pitches with old leather lace up balls in the mud in the middle of winter.
Part of growing up in an environment where football is not amongst the top half dozen sports, and there was no coverage/interest until the '82 WC campaign.

I played for 20 years for school/club etc but the closest I got to any coaching in those days was kick & chase & running laps around the pitch. I learnt more from kicking a ball around with mates.

I'm jealous of the coverage and environment you guys grow up in,
and in the amount of knowledge available via the interweb etc,
none of which was around when I was still playing,
and now I no longer have the time to prioritise/enjoy.

Youth & Opportunity are wasted on the young etc?
Don't get me wrong - it is what it is and it's nothing more than just that.
But our age alone does not mean that we've actually been able to witness past glories as much as circumstance and opportunity.

 

[Arsenal in Aus]

Amen brother.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

FFS, I'm a month older than him and he's taller than me.

He's fitter and richer too, but **** it, that inch must have come as a blow

Sick burn.

 

[silent_shadow]

FFS, I'm a month older than him and he's taller than me.

He's fitter and richer too, but **** it, that inch must have come as a blow

Shares a dressing room with Rosicky as well...

 

[SiMamu]

FFS, I'm a month older than him and he's taller than me.

He's fitter and richer too, but **** it, that inch must have come as a blow

Shares a dressing room with Rosicky as well...

 

[trunks206]

Likely will be representing the US as he's applied for US citizenship.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2014/12/30/gedion-zelalem-usa-citizen-usmnt-arsenal-germany-klinsmann" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2014/12 ... -klinsmann</a>" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good move as he isnt going to get time in midfield with Germany in ages, Klinsmann loves German-American footballers (Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson and Julian Green) and as he's shown with De'Andre Yedlin and Green he will give you chance to shine, even on the biggest stage, regardless of age if he rates you.

He could really grow into the playmaker CM role ala a young Cesc for the US, as we dont really have one, but you have to feel he just wont get that shot for Arsenal any time soon with how stacked we are with playmakers in midfield in term of quality and age as they are all pretty young bar Rosicky.

He looks a big talent but sadly I feel for him to shine he'll have to move away from AFC to get the required game time to push on.

Sucks we went out out of the CC so early and are trying to claw our way back into the CL places as we wont get to see much of him (or any of our other youngsters) this season.

 

[Uncle Mike]

The future of Arsenal, the future of America! Glory, glory, hallelujah, His truth is marching on!

 

[Hunta]

Oh for **** sake, thought we'd got rid of you.

 

[Iceman10]

He's in a bit of a plateau at the moment tbf. Hopefully the arrival of Bielik (assuming the transfer goes through) helps in allowing him to refocus his game around his strengths.

 

[bingobob]

11 pages on a youngster that has barely kicked s ball in anger.

Let him get on with things without the pressure of being the next Cesc, americas next hope etc etc.

 

[Jury]

He's fine. The the peaks and troughs of his progress hava been normal so far.

Look what standard he has to get to beofre he plays regularly though. It's always a big ask for any kid at a club with big players. It might be a good idea to get him ot on loan to Watford or something next season.

 

[9jagooner]

I personally don't think Zel is ready and doesn't look like he'll be ready to play consistently for us in another 2 years.

IMO Olsson is ahead of him though he's left the club now. Two midfield players in the youth squad who have been more consistent than Zel - Crowley and Niles.

 

[a_fourteen]

Now that Zelalem has accepted US citizenship, won't he need a work permit?

 

[Toast]

^ He has a dual nationality now, no?

 

[a_fourteen]

^ He has a dual nationality now, no?

I don't know. What are the rules? It's all so confusing.

 

[Toast]

^ Yeah, it's confusing as hell. I found this article that explains it all pretty well:

<a class="postlink" href="http://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2014/9/30/6865371/arsenal-gedion-zelalem-united-states-citizenship-usmnt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2014/9 ... ship-usmnt</a>

If this article was way too long for you (it was) here's a quick summation:

1. Zelalem can definitely become a US citizen, but it might not be as hassle-free as we were led to believe
2. He can keep his German citizenship, but probably not forever
3. He can keep his work permit for a while and if he can't, it probably won't be to the detriment of Arsenal.

 

[Arsenal1508]

Two passports. German passport allows him to work in UK.

 

[a_fourteen]

^ Yeah, it's confusing as hell. I found this article that explains it all pretty well:

<a class="postlink" href="http://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2014/9/30/6865371/arsenal-gedion-zelalem-united-states-citizenship-usmnt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2014/9 ... ship-usmnt</a>" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If this article was way too long for you (it was) here's a quick summation:

1. Zelalem can definitely become a US citizen, but it might not be as hassle-free as we were led to believe
2. He can keep his German citizenship, but probably not forever
3. He can keep his work permit for a while and if he can't, it probably won't be to the detriment of Arsenal.

Thanks bro

 

[North5]

So people think he had no citizenship before applying for the US one at 17?