Arsenal’s deserved reputation as a conveyor belt for outstanding young talent is well deserved, however the Gunners could well pay the price for the success of their youth program, by losing a couple of their key young players in the January transfer window.
The truth of the matter is that for youngsters like Fran Merida and Jack Wilshere, the limited first team opportunities afforded to them, due to the fact Arsenal’s first team squad is well off for talented midfielders, has only allowed them to appear in some unimportant Champions League games of the Carling Cup.
The problem facing Arsene Wenger is that players like Wilshere and Merida are now ready for a more prominent first team role at the club. With a lot of talented midfielders to choose from including Diaby, Diarra, Rosicky, Narsi and Fabregas, Arshavin also needs a mention because he can play any role in the midfield, the midfield seems like a very unlikely place for young players to step up into the team.
The irony is, of course, that at the moment, the first grade team is dying for strikers at the moment, if Wilshere or Merida had been strikers they would be straight into the first team, due to injuries to Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner who are Arsenals lead strikers.
It seems likely that Wilshere will be taking a loan move away from Arsenal in the near future. He has been shown intrest from Burnley to move to Turf Moor, a move to the Bolton Wanderes by manager Owen Coyle makes it seems unlikely that much interest will be shown until they resolve their managerial situation. A loan to another Premier League team is what Wilshere seems likely to do. Recent rumours have leaked that Wilshere is contemplating a loan to West Ham for the rest of the season, and with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stating that Wilshere needs first grade soccer experience the move to a West Ham soccer jersey may just take place.
The situation surrounding Fran Merida is more complicated. Transferred in much the same was as Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona to Arsenal as a young player, the youngster has drawn many comparisons with his Spanish counterpart. However unlike Fabregas, Merida has been unable to break into the Arsenal side despite his undoubted talent and with his contract due to expire in June 2010 and Arsene Wenger unable to persuade him to sign a new deal with the club, Merida has decided that Spain is were he wants to be. He will transfer to the club he followed as a boy; Atletico Madrid, however this move will be a permanent one, he will most likely never wear the Arsenal jersey again..
While Arsenal are well off for midfield talent, Arsenal fans can’t be feeling good that up and coming players that they trained and taught will be leave the club to make a name for themselves for another team, albeit temporarily in Wilshere’s case, simply because competition for places in the squad, in their position, is particularly strong.
Tags: arsenal, arsenal news, soccer, soccer news