Craig Eastmond was an in-between kid . . . Frimpong was an in-between kid . . . Henri Lansbury was an in-between kid . . . and so on The in-between kids are stopgaps, at best. It's a numbers game. Most simply aren't good enough.
No, those are the same as Hutchinson, Walters, Cozier-Duberry, Chido Martin, Heaven, etc. Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri already look like Bellerin/Iwobi level starters and have the potential to be Saka or Cesc level stars. By in-between I'm talking about Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah types. Squad players that were never really starters but filled out the squad and would have played against Girona or come off the bench in the league. Instead Sterling is playing and making 10x what a 19-22yo academy product would be making.
Development is hard and scales differently. It's incredibly unusual for a 17-18 year old to be able to play meaningful minutes in the Premier League, and it only happens when the player looks like a future star or when the team is super desperate (e.g., Kobbe Mainoo). Most players that are good enough to play in the PL and get meaningful minutes usually don't start playing until 19-21. The flip side is that if an academy player isn't playing first team minutes by 21 (even if on loan somewhere else), it's highly unlikely that they make it at Arsenal.
I think this is a fair point, and it is an issue, but those players only play meaningful minutes if something has gone very wrong.
Do u remember how poor those players were? We just need a stronger squad with a mix of elite talent which we seem to be producing now
I frankly don't recall either way, but is Arteta having top youth/academy players (MLS, Nwanieri, Dowmann, etc.) regularly training with the first team a relatively new trend at this club? If it's ~new, then I wonder if this is part of the reason why there is better impact now. The kids are able to build up their technical, tactical, and mental abilities at a faster and more meaningful rate. The exposure also allows Arteta to directly assess and build a foundation of trust in them. To be sure, the kids need to be "good enough," but these other factors may explain why we seems to be getting more recent production from the Academy.
Dowman leaving seniors from dead in Dubaipic.twitter.com/FLgYYjHEqe https://t.co/WsRQFi4ZUb— 🇳🇴 kimmoFC (@kimmoFC) February 9, 2025
Andre Harriman-Annous might be the next one to watch, called up to the England u18s. Plays as a striker and wing. Might see him in the squad this summer. https://arseblog.news/2025/05/harriman-annous-rewarded-with-england-u18-callup/
Exclusive: Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Jack Henry-Francis and Jimi Gower set to leave Arsenal this summer https://t.co/6owV9pjRFK— Jeorge Bird (@jeorgebird) May 24, 2025
Just realized nobody has posted this beauty anywhere on this forum yet. Kid seems to have “it” A fabulous solo goal by Max Dowman for our #YoungLions on Monday night 💫 pic.twitter.com/zVbS305dXj— England (@England) May 27, 2025
Kind of feel for these guys, but they should have moved on a while ago. We also need to do a better job of getting loans for some of these players. Nathan Butler-Oyedeji is 22, and has gotten two sub appearances at Arsenal and 25-odd games in League One. Apparently he didn't score a single goal in League One, which is unfortunate.
Playing for the u21s and training at London Colney, occasionally with Arteta and the first team, might be better for his development than going on loan for a League Two club that probably doesn't have the greatest training facilities.
Wondering how other club fans and racists will somehow make this another issue to critique The skill level here by Ethan Nwaneri! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QFsKmNZzJ9— England (@England) June 3, 2025