When Charles Sagoe Jr reflects on the 2023-24 season it is likely that the winger will have mixed feelings.
In the first half of the campaign Sagoe Jr enjoyed the standout moment of his career so far as he made his Arsenal senior debut when he started away to Brentford in the Carabao Cup. That came off the back of some excellent displays for Arsenal at youth level.
Along with Ethan Nwaneri, Sagoe Jr was one of just two academy players to feature for the Arsenal first-team in a competitive game this season, which provides an indication of how highly rated he is within the club.
Sagoe Jr was loaned out to Swansea City for the second half of the season but the move didn’t go as expected as he was restricted to just two appearances in the Championship.
However, being in a different environment and gaining an understanding of the demands of senior football could still prove to be beneficial for his overall progress.
Sagoe Jr is set to return to Arsenal this summer for pre-season and it seems likely that he could be sent on loan again.
The hope is that this time he will head to a club that will be more willing to provide him with regular opportunities.
Over the past couple of years Sagoe Jr has frequently impressed for Arsenal U21s and has made over 40 appearances at that level, so it seems clear that he now needs to make the step up to senior football.
A hard-working player with good close control, the 19-year-old will be aiming to enjoy a more productive loan spell this time around and push on further in his career.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
See you in the big time?
I’m sure it must be difficult to get good loans for these young players but surely it’s an area that the club could improve on? Most of our top youngsters end up in lower league clubs where they hardly ever play and it seems like a step backwards. I wish more of them were sent to places like Sturm Graz, who want to actually use the young players. Granted, Sturm Graz loaned our top youngsters, but both Okonkwo and Biereth have picked up silverware with them, playing good football, and that’s the sort of club we should be looking into.… Read more »
It’s also a much closer scenario to what they have grown up playing and what they’ll experience when they get back to Arsenal. Playing for a top team in Austria / Belgium / Holland etc where they’ll play attacking football and have pressure to win every week is so much better for their development as an Arsenal player. I wish guys like Charlie Patino had done something similar – why we would send a technical attacking midfielder to a bottom half championship side I really do not know.
Exactly, I just don’t get it. Unless the young player wants to stay in England I really don’t see the point of them warming the bench in a lower league team. I really hope the club gets a loan manager in that earns his keep and gets these youngsters worthwhile loans, at the moment it just seems a case of chucking them out there to whoever.
He did start out playing a lot and garnering praise at Swansea but it sort of petered out. There have been examples of our youth players doing well in English clubs, Jack Wilshere most famously but also Sambi had a nice spell at Lutron this season. I don’t think it’s the league where they get loaned so much as a combination of their projected versus actual value to the club and the willingness of the manager to lean into a youngster.
Jack Wilshere is one of the best talents both Arsenal and English football have ever produced, maybe we shouldn’t expect most youngsters to do what he did… Sambi was 24 this year and no longer considered for an Arsenal career. There have been a few rare good cases but for the most part the English leagues have not been kind to our very young players on loan. And I think Spanish Gooner makes a great point, they don’t learn to play the sort of football there they need to at Arsenal.
Add to the fact it’s good for young English players to experience another culture and a league with emphasis on technique over physicality. For young players brought in from overseas, I can see how a loan to an English club would help in acclimatising them to English football.
Should he stay or should he goe?
I say goe
🏃
I fucking hate Man United but I have to admit that I felt a warm glow when they stopped those cheating cunts from winning the FA Cup.
Fuck Man City!
I wonder if Rodri will blame his own mentality
I knew they didn’t have what it takes to win the FA Cup when they came to the Emirates and played for a draw
As Sinatra sang, “use your mentality, wake up to reality.” Rodri is an overrated cunt.
And hopefully the trophy will keep Ten Haag in charge! Absolutely love his work and trusting that process.
🥹🥹🥹
For me, he’s the best United manager ever!
Southgate after the euros would be simply amazing…
CSJr:
Most impressive trait is he can strike the ball well off either foot. Not sure he has the speed/balance to be a top winger or the physical presence to be a top striker. He’s kind of a poacher who gets on the end of things but also used as an outlet. Reminds me a lot of Nketiah when he was coming through. I think he can top out as a solid PL player, very unlikely at Arsenal.