Former Arsenal youth keeper Ryan Huddart recently sat down for a Q&A with ElitesTV about his six years in the Arsenal Academy and on the fringes of the first team.
From the influence of Arsene Wenger, Petr Cech and Liam Brady to the managerial attributes of Mikel Arteta, the must win mentality of Tony Adams and Jens Lehman, and how a boy from Margate ended up sitting on the bench for a Champions League match.
There’s also some very interesting stuff on Wojciech Szczesny, Chuba Akpom, Alex Iwobi and others he spent time in the youth system with.
Brilliant insight into the Arsenal culture and how Wenger cultivated that collegiate feeling within the club.
This guy is so refreshing and insightful. I like his take on the Arsenal players who made it and those who didn’t!
+1. Was surprised about Akpom, seemed chill in the club media. That we couldn’t get the best out of Szczesny still annoys me.
He still won the golden gloves with us. I will always maintain it was Wenger’s biggest mistake in letting him go after his stint with Roma where he had turned int a world class keeper and is now rated the best in Serie A and one of the best in the world. He’s vastly superior to Leno.
I still hold a little hope that if we don’t totally turn to shit he’ll return when his contract at Juve is up. An Arsenal fan from youth, maybe with a point to prove I’d love him to come challenge Leno. He must have played alongside Arteta also.
Wenger doesn’t nurture players with strong characters. He gets rid of them. This was clearly the case with Szczesny.
Henry, Adams and Vieira were all strong players so how come they stayed?
They were all Wengers age.
Thanks Blogs! Really enjoyed the video. Wonderful perspective of the background staff and some recognition of the importance of having Arsenal men instilling the culture on players.
Who’s Johnno?
very good interview.
Nice one Mitch