Xavier Amaechi surely would have made his first-team debut already had it not been for injury, so the winger will be especially determined to make an impact in the warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
A skilful winger who is usually deployed on the left wing, Amaechi has frequently impressed for Arsenal at U23 level since returning from his spell on the sidelines and was included in the travelling party for the training camp.
As a measure of just how highly regarded he is by Arsenal, the club chose to withdraw Amaechi from the England U18 squad so that Unai Emery could assess him during training.
Although it may be seen by some as a meaningless friendly, next week’s game against Al Nasr is a particularly important occasion for Amaechi as it could signal his maiden appearance for the first-team.
Should he feature and impress then the 18-year-old will have a good chance of being involved in cup competitions for the first-team next season.
Amaechi isn’t the only Arsenal youngster who has travelled with the first-team for the first time, with Arthur Okonkwo and James Olayinka also falling into that category.
Okonkwo, a highly-regarded goalkeeper, is just 17 and has yet to play for the U23s but will certainly benefit from being tested in training by the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, while Olayinka, an energetic midfielder, will relish the opportunity to learn from Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal’s trip to Dubai has attracted some criticism, and it is understandable that some supporters are concerned about the possibility of injuries being sustained against Al Nasr.
For the young players involved, though, this trip could well be used as a springboard for further first-team involvement, and Amaechi may be the individual who benefits the most.
—
Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Hope it all went well and they all come back without any injury. ?
Players are just as likely to get injured on International duty…I can’t believe people are stressing about the team going to Dubai.
Nice to see so many interesting players from the youth academy. Seems like every talent that comes through our academy these days, always have some kind of special talent.
Yes, that’s true. The problem is that hardly anyone from the youth set up makes it into the team other than the odd appearance. I remember some Gooners going wild about Gedion Zelalem a few years ago. He was a “special talent” but has moved on without making any impact, and nobody talks about him now. The possible good news is that the obvious lack of money at Arsenal nowadays could force the club to concentrate more on the real development of the youngsters. We’ll see.
Gedion got injured and the talk nowadays is that he’s gone to the MLS.
Wilshere, Iwobi, Emile, Nelson, Willock and Niles show us that if you are good enough you can make it into the first team@ Goonereality
Eddie, Eddie, Eddie! Don’t forget Eddie!
Ameachi has been highly regarded for a long time and I like that the club pushes players on to the manager to assess and shows Faith in a player despite the manager. If we can develop players for the club rather than for the coaches, it can ensure that we end up with more talent on our hands that can be sold for “Solanke” prices if the manager doesn’t rate them, or we could keep the players if we think they are good enough. I can imagine Wojiech being kept as a loan option until the right age and then… Read more »
Naija boys representing!
“usually deployed on the left wing”
Not from what I’ve seen, almost always plays on the right, great talent.
“Olayinka, an energetic midfielder, will relish the opportunity to learn from Mesut Ozil.”
Thats a funny sentence.
Like
“Nketiah, a prolific striker, will relish the opportunity to learn from Gervinho.”
Not having a go at Ozil but he doesn’t exactly slot into the energetic category.
Olayinka Might want o learn from Ramsay and elneny
So what’s the deal with Saka?
Few bench appearances and 1 minute play and nothing.
Saks is playing and scoring for England this week. We couldn’t pull all our age group lads out of international duty as there wouldn’t be anyone left!?