It is a prerequisite that the most fundamental aspect of youth football is development. Seeing players, as Alex Iwobi has done this season, break into the first-team squad is the reward for the years of hard work that the club put into fine-tuning the ability of young prospects.
Youth team matches, then, can be seen as more of a competition between the players involved in their respective quests to make it to the top as opposed to pinning much importance on the overall outcome of the game itself.
In some circumstances, however, winning at youth level can be very important indeed. Arsenal U21s have concluded their second season in the second tier of second-string football, and, having spurned the opportunity of automatic promotion, now have to go through the play-offs in an attempt to secure their place in the top division.
Ordinarily development takes precedence over results, but in this case the two ideals can co-exist. Progressing to the top division would enable the young Gunners to test themselves against the likes of Manchester United (who have just won the title for the second season in succession), Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Livepool, all of whom boast stellar youth academies.
Arsenal themselves started the campaign in fine fashion- winning their first three matches- but, perhaps hampered by the loss of Iwobi, they have lacked consistency in recent months.
Still, Steve Gatting’s side had a chance to be crowned champions of the second division, but, despite the involvement of Jack Wilshere, who continued his recovery by scoring against West Bromwich Albion on Monday night, positive results continued to elude Arsenal, and a play-off semi-final with Blackburn Rovers, at Emirates Stadium no less, in now on the agenda.
Given the importance of the occasion, it would surely be tempting for Arsenal to exploit the rules of the competition and call upon some first-team players to help their cause. Calum Chambers, for instance, has barely featured for the senior side in recent weeks and is still officially classed as an U21 player, while Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could also be called upon as they step up their comebacks.
Testing themselves against a higher calibre of opposition would only be of benefit to Arsenal’s youngsters, and for that reason the club should be going all out to prevail in the play-offs.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
That pic looks like an old man comforting a distraught son haha.
I realize it is best to have our young players testing themselves versus the other top academies, but we also had many players out on loan this season to lower clubs – maybe a bit more than usual.
Are there any stats showing how many Arsenal U21 players are on loan through the various divisions versus other premier league clubs?
It seems like our young player development is better served with the fighting for minutes on another Premier League team, the Championship, or L1 rather than academy football.
Not as many on loan as Chelsea. They’re still doing well.
Not sure if the u21 issue is due to quality or Steve Gatting.
Going up probably makes our junior defenders to become better, because they’ll sure be tested by the best junior strikers. I think this is why we have no “internal solution” for defensive problems.
Team for the play off game? Ospina – Johnson – Pleggy – Chambers – Moore – Bielik – Cazorla -Reine Aderlaide – Crowley -Gnabry – Giroud/Theo
I say we give sanchez a cheeky haircut and fake mustache and play his long lost younger cousin Zehcnas Sixela, they’ll never suspect a thing.
It’s a shame the playoff system was introduced this time; Arsenal U21 would have been automatically promoted in the past.
Arsenal and trophy….
One has to put things in perspective and remember that some of our better youth prospects are on loan (or promoted to first team ranks) Thus the current youth squad has had some reinforcements recently but will take time to gel. ALSO well worth noting that as much as people like to think they know more, Wenger has successfully brought through Bellerin, Coquelin, Campbell (to some extent) AND Iwobi from youth ranks (not to mention Gibbs before) This is an outstanding record for a manager who is purportedly clueless. And it proves Wenger is very much still current and indeed… Read more »
What’s up with The Jeff these days?