Ze Yoof - Follow the Youth Teams and Loanees here

Historical numbers would indicate that Arsenal will be lucky if more than 2 of the players from this 2-3 year group ever become contributors to the first team.

You can go down a list of players: afobe, ansah, aneke, wilshere, frimpong, eastmond, coquelin, nordtveit, szczesney, JET, etc.

I will exclude Ramsey from the list because he is different, he was brought in directly as a first-teamer. Not sure where to put Wellington Silva in there either as he joins at 18 and will pretty much have to go directly into the first team setup like Vela.

We already know Wilshere is odds on to make it - already has to an extent, though in limited time.

All of those others have had hype of some kind or another, but have accomplished essentially nothing - most have never played a competitive match.

But the nature of the youth interest, the blogs hyping them up, etc., have made it so that people call for guys like Frimpong to be a starter or rotational player - when he has never played in a competitive match in his life.

Simply, the odds are that all but perhaps one or two more of them will wash out.

It was probably better when no one had ever heard of them, they didn't have their press clippings, and they just had to work hard to break through at each level.

 

To some extent, it depends on what you mean by "contributor", but I agree with your general premise. If I had to guess, it's not terribly different than in major league baseball, where only a handful of guys at triple A will ever contribute meaningfully in the big leagues.

Arsenal has one of the largest youth squads in the Prem (IIRC, Pool is up there too) and it seems like they sometimes operate on the law of large numbers theory. Rather than buying a top prospect, they will buy one 2 notches below at 1/3 the price. Not questioning the logic of the philosophy, but it's important to recognize that part and parcel of it is the understanding that many players won't survive. Doesn't mean they won't have decent careers as professionals (e.g. Muamba, Larsson, Bentley, Upson, Stokes, etc.), they just won't cut it at Arsenal.

 

JET, JFW, Frimpong will be the only ones to make it. Check back in a few years.

Also already including Ramsey and Silva in the first team.

 

My favorite, Aliadiere

 

You're right but our youth setup is in better shape then it ever has been. I think more than 1-2 or will make it with the club. Wilshere already has. Szczesney, JET, and Eastmond have already started to get game time. Coquelin, Frimpong, Afobe, and Aneke all look like the real deal. I think more than 1 of those 7 will find a role at the club

 

I think we should go ahead and make Sczecznczeny our #2. Might as well -- what point would there be in going back to Almunia now?

 

Even if our academy is in better shape, virtually no academy in the world achieves much higher success rates than one or two champions league level players per cycle of 2-3 seasons.

And even if the players are good, they must ultimately contend with other good, young players brought in. Wellington Silva, for example, will compete with the academy players for game time. There will be others to follow him. There always are.

 

I wish that we had kept him just because it was so much fun to say his name. Plus, his WAG was smokin...

 

If that is what Wenger said, then that is just as much Wenger twisting the situation for his benefit.

An agent's word is a player's word. If the agent is going off the rails and saying things that put the player's position in jeopardy, then the player should find a new agent.

If the agent says these things and the player thinks that is ok and keeps him, then he has basically co-signed the statements.

Clubs always try to paint the agents as the bad guys, separate from the players, because once the deal is signed, they still want the relationship between the club, the player, and the fans to continue on good terms. Generally, no one even knows who the agent is, he's just a pronoun, so it is ok for him to be the bad guy.

 

I don't believe this has been posted, but Afobe has gone on loan to League One Huddersfield Town until January.

 

I still think more then 1 of those 7 will find a role with the club

 

This misses the point, though.

It isn't Arsenal v. "The Agent," it is Arsenal versus Szczezsney.

He wants x, y, z, and Arsenal only want to give him x and y.

If they were agreed on everything, there would have been a new contract months ago.

 

Well, I take it case-by-case, but in this case, I agree.

 

lol at u internet stalkers

if he's good eno9ugh he will get a chance, if he's not then he will be gone

jesus, do u people have jobs or do u just search arsenal shit online?

 

Thank you Captain Obvious.

 

well why are people going on and on, truth is, barely anyone has seen him play more than 2 or 3 games yet speculate like women

 

what is wellington silva's preferred position? is it the wide right "walcott" role, the "bergkamp" off the main striker role, or the "arshavin" cutting in from the left role, or something else entirely?

 

striker or arshavins position i heard

 

From what I've read, a wide player that likes to run at defenders.

 

c'mon, he's a wenger buy: short (check), technical (check) central attacker (check) who will be played out wide (check).