For much of the first half of the season, defenders Joseph Olowu and Mark McGuinness had to endure a considerable amount of frustration.
The pair are both part of the Arsenal U23 squad and are no longer eligible to feature for the U18s, but they have frequently found themselves left out of the starting lineup for Steve Bould’s side this season and on some occasions haven’t been involved at all.
However, in recent weeks injuries to others have provided Olowu and McGuinness with opportunities to impress. It is safe to say that they have taken those chances and have given Bould something of a selection headache for the remainder of the campaign.
Olowu is best suited to playing at centre-back but has often been deployed at right-back over the past couple of seasons in order to give him more chances.
With Zak Swanson sidelined, Olowu has come into the side, and, while there have inevitably been some signs of rustiness, he has performed well overall.
McGuinness, meanwhile, has benefitted from Konstantinos Mavropanos’ increased involvement with the first-team squad and the injury suffered by Harry Clarke.
A tall centre-back who has been capped by the Republic of Ireland at youth level, McGuinness was outstanding for Arsenal U23s against Dinamo Zagreb recently.
Both players still have some way to go in order to establish themselves as regular starters for Bould’s team, but they have certainly done their chances of increased further involvement no harm at all.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
As ever,any thanks for the updates on our youth teams, Jeorge.
Apologies, that should read “many thanks”