JazzG wrote:
He's 21, there is always going to be risks in playing him. He made a mistake but didn't let it effect him, sign of real maturity. I'm sure the fans cheering for him helped as well. Imagine he makes this mistake a year or two ago, our fans might not have been so forgiving. There is a feel good factor around Arsenal right now, hasn't been the case for a while now.
In hindsight, it's looking increasingly like we've managed him really well. The only real mistake was failing to submit the paperwork to send him out on loan at the start of his second season.
The guy is still a kid and the mismanage argument is hyperbole and speculative. We have absolute no idea how his relationship with Arteta was/is, and sending a 19 year old to the reserves is not mismanagement.
He also plays in a position where mistakes are costly, so it made perfect sense to let him make those mistakes elsewhere. Inexperienced CB's are by far the riskiest players to introduce into the first team, and it's easy to sit in your armchair and say he should play when there are no consequences if he fails. As a manager whose neck is on the line, it's perfectly understandable to be cautious bringing a teenage CB into the first team squad, regardless of talent.
