Omari Hutchinson scored a spectacular goal for Arsenal U21s in a friendly this week but it is unclear which level he will be playing at this season.
Hutchinson, who can thrive as a winger or an attacking midfielder, made an impact in the defeat to Woking but wasn’t selected to travel with the first-team squad for their training camp in Germany.
The reason for Hutchinson’s omission isn’t anything to do with ability but more the fact that there are plenty of wide options in the first-team squad, such as Nicolas Pepe, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Marquinhos, while Folarin Balogun has also been used on the left flank at times.
Although it is possible that Pepe and Nelson may not be at the club when the season starts, Bukayo Saka still has to return from holiday after international duty and it isn’t out of the question that Arsenal could sign another winger.
As alluded to, Hutchinson is also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder but then would be behind the likes of Martin Odegaard, Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira.
There is a possibility that Hutchinson could be involved in the first-team’s tour of the United States but it isn’t guaranteed he will get many opportunities beyond that in the near future.
Hutchinson had been earmarked for potential involvement in the Europa League this season and that could still be the case but if he isn’t going to be starting in the group matches then perhaps a loan could be the best option.
Although Hutchinson is only 18, it has long been apparent that playing in the U21s will not do too much for his development and he is often one of Arsenal’s standout performers at that level.
A full season out on loan could really help Hutchinson develop his all-round game rather than waiting for sporadic opportunities to impress.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
I’ve been thinking about this a bit recently as we seem to be signing a lot of our young players to professional contracts. Is it fair to say that the academy should be more about generating funds than generating first team players? I know Saka and ESR came through recently. But before that you’d probably have to go back to Iwobi, Gnabry and Wiltshire. That’s 5 in fifteen years (I’m surely forgetting someone) and most of them didn’t actually “make it” at Arsenal. I know it’s somewhat cynical to think of these young lads as financial commodities. But it’s impossible… Read more »
We’ve been awful at that while others have gotten significantly better- namely Chelsea and Liverpool. The latter are about to sell Neco Williams for £17m, and recent history has produced even more absurd scenarios (Rhian Brewster and Dom Solanke the ones that I’m sure come to most people’s mind). Really an area that needs improving.
The total loan limits are set to be reduced over the years. Chelsea were taking full advantage of the rules and so got really successful at farming players out and recouping money on their sales.
It’s going to be harder to have this business model in the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G3pckdNOAE
source is Tifo football
Thanks for this Carlos. I didn’t realise that was being tightened up on.
Makes you dream for an Arsenal B side in the championship that we could throw all our promising u23’s into and also stick a bunch of our “no longer needed” in as well to put them in the shop window.
Also, maybe I could actually afford to go and watch them play 😜
Keep for early rounds of cup games and loan in January for rest of season?
Too many people in front even for that… a loan in league 1 would be awesome. Portsmouth, anyone?
We’ve known about Omari since he was 13. I just hope he lives up to the hype!
Dear (current and future) downvoters, I don’t aim at talking about the player, or the case. I am just worried about the team. He has been sensational and so much contributing to our wins. So if there is a problem, there should be a solution, a replacement, etc. I’m just worried.
Me too. If there is that possibility we need to look at alternatives – like Onana for instance, but nobody can play like he does.
I’m sure Arteta will handle the situation based on realistic outcomes.
Onana the goalkeeper?
We’re stuffed if not. 3.4 points per game when he played, 0.8 when he didn’t.
Wow, he’s even better than I thought, able to get us more than 3 points per game!!
Guys, I have deleted some comments here, not because I want to stifle discussion, but because there are strict restrictions in place regarding the issue that many of you are well aware of.
I know it’s difficult but for now, there’s nothing that can be said or discussed that might identify the person in question – and I know how absurd that is given social media and everything else, but that’s what we have to do here and I hope people will respect that.
Thank you.
Andrew
I do respect. Thanks Andrew.
No problem. There was a really good article from The Athletic explaining the way the law works in these circumstances and how this impacts reporting and social media posting:
https://theathletic.com/3401659/2022/07/06/premier-league-footballer-arrest/
Yes, this is worth a read.
Thanks for this. Is there any sort of time frame in the UK until when a person has to be potentially charged after being arrested?
Fair enough 👍
Two down votes? I’m incredulous!
For a team in a supposed “rebuild” we sure haven’t seen much of anything from our academy prospects since MA’s arrival, minus from those who were already seeing minutes prior to his hiring…very peculiar, to say the least
Hey admin it has been boring lately. Give us something to gossip about.
How about the rumours zhegorev, Noah, lang, Martinez etc. Just keep us busy.
I wish someone could clear the air on tp5 tho.
Please see above message.