Youth team development: Page 21 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Youth team development

Clrnc

New contract incoming?

EDIT: Yep, other players replying to him with the clock emoji.

Don Pacifico

Fingers crossed. Whether or not he's going to be as big as we hope he is, there's no doubting that even from his limited minutes, he's got something. Also seems to be built in a way which would actually suit the 4-3-3 we aspire to better than our other options.

goon

If nothing else even if he turns out to be a dud we can sell to SU for £20m.

I really like the look of him though, able to hold the ball up (in the EL anyway) as good as anyone. Looks really smart in and around the box as well, sharp movement etc.

MistaT

Pressure is on Nketiah, will be interesting to see if he has another level. I'm cheering for Nketiah but there's not quite enough (yet).

Claudius

Great. With him and Nketiah we have two good young strikers on board. If we end up with zero from this, we should just fold. Eddie is good enough to be Jermaine Defoe. This guy might be something more. We need to execute

Don Pacifico

Not that this is an Nketiah thread but I think we overrate him. His limitations have been apparent from day one and as a result, he doesn't really fit into our system. Also not sure about the Defoe comparisons - Defoe could score from a range of positions/situations and Eddie has not shown that variety (even for England U-21s).

DiabyKungFu

Jermain Defoe is the 8th highest scorer in the history of the Premier League. If you really think there's anything more than maybe a 2% chance of Nketiah becoming Jermain Defoe or that Nketiah becoming Jermain Defoe would be a bad thing, then I really don't even know what to say.

For what it's worth, we've had Jermain Defoe for the past few years and everyone on this forum has consistently said that he's one of the best forwards in the world.

goon

I’d loan Eddie out as early as Jan, we’ve got Balogun and Martinelli to fill that gap and I think he desperately needs mins to develop some confidence.

I would ship out Willock too and see what he can go, ideally at a PL club.

lorddulaarsenal

Holly smokes - methinks I may not have appreciated just how good Ben Cottrell is.

Such an intelligent player. Doesn’t smile either which is a good sign

Claudius

Diaby KungFu wrote:
Jermain Defoe is the 8th highest scorer in the history of the Premier League. If you really think there's anything more than maybe a 2% chance of Nketiah becoming Jermain Defoe or that Nketiah becoming Jermain Defoe would be a bad thing, then I really don't even know what to say.

For what it's worth, we've had Jermain Defoe for the past few years and everyone on this forum has consistently said that he's one of the best forwards in the world.

That’s the thing. Defoe has had a career he can be proud of. Eddie will certainly have a career he can be proud of. But look at the top teams. The strikers they have are not just very good. They’re special. They’re faster to the ball. They turn a pass into a shot faster than everyone else, and they do it with greater accuracy. They’re elusive and effective. Lacazette was headed towards a Defoe career before wrecking his trajectory with the Arsenal experience. But nobody will ever look at Lacazette and mistake him for RVP and Aubameyang. As good as he is, there is still a massive gulf between him and those guys. And that’s really the story of premier league footballers. Most of them are good to very good. But then there are a few superhuman guys like you’re Sons, Salahs, van Dijk, Bruno, etc., who just elevate you.

flobaba

I think DkF is saying Auba is Defoe level.

Claudius

Oh I misunderstood the last part. He’s confused then. His peak was at Spurs and West Ham where he scored 181 in 464 games. Everything else is pants. PEA has scored 154 in 251 Premier League and Bundesliga games. That’s where he made his positional transition and hit his peak.

lorddulaarsenal

Point is Nketiah isn’t good enough. Has some nice attributes but isn’t rounded enough.

Balogun looks far better - that said there are parts to his game which may not be up to it. Not sure he has the power to run in behind but that may come as he develops physically

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

Isn't his power one of the things that really jumps out even at this early stage?

Claudius

Balogun looks like a full package centre foward but we are dealing with such a limited sample size right now. Once upon a time Nelson was compared to Sancho. Who knows he could still recover his development path but right now the two look headed to very different places at age 21.

Rohit

Nketiah is far too reliant on the team functioning well. He doesn't seem to be an enabler of the same in the final third, rather a beneficiary. His movement and positions he takes are generally very good but he has been lacking on the ball and lacks the strength to hold onto it. Balogun's physical attributes mean that in the final third others can bring him into play. It needs to be seen if he has the understanding and awareness to then return the favour but he clearly could do with minutes.

Claudius

I wish we’d had a chance to see a Europa game with just Balogun, Saka, ESR, Nelson. Our opponents were bad enough to permit such experimentation. They all grew up together and will know each other well. They’re flexible, total footballers. Would be good to see how they would play offense together. I think there would be good movement and chance creation.

goon

Patino scored a long range screamer to help us win in the FA Youth Cup. Feels like we're getting one of two players emerge every year from the academy.

flobaba

Besides Saka, our academy products are only making the fringes of the first team because the first team is so bad, and we need human bodies on the bench.

goon

They helped us win 6 out of 6 in the EL, which is exactly what you'd want from your young/fringe players.

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