Mikel Arteta has been accused of not giving Arsenal youngsters enough first-team opportunities after the club lost some top talents this summer.
The Gunners pride themselves on grooming players who can step up and become important members of their first team.
Arsenal has been preparing well for the new season, and this is an ideal time to integrate some youngsters.
Several youth players were part of the squad that travelled to the United States for pre-season, and two of them stood out.
Arsenal fans have been speaking highly of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly for their performances with the first team in recent weeks.
These two youngsters seem poised to make the step up into the first team when the new season starts, and Arteta has confirmed that they are ready to contribute if they continue to perform well.
He said, as quoted by The Sun:
“If they continue like they are doing right now [we will see more of them]
“There is no difference whether they come from the academy or we sign them from Germany or Argentina or Italy.
“If they are showing the quality that they have, the personality they have to play at this level… let’s see.
“Why would we put any restrictions? If they deserve minutes, they get minutes.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We have been criticised for not promoting enough and Arteta will do our reputation some more good if these two youngsters get chances to play.
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
I thought Heaven played well too. I don’t think anyone expects the young guys to be in the rotation or depending heavily on them.
Cup games, some sub appearances, and a year with the 1st team and Arteta’s tactics can break them in.
Buy next Summer we will have a good idea of what they can contribute to the team.
I hope he has the confidence to start them if/when the time is right, not just “give them minutes”. It’s not about appeasing their desire to play – if they are at the right sort of level, they should have the opportunity to stake a claim, same as anyone else