Arsenal’s first post-Wenger signing shows continuation of youth policy

So we have the very first signing of the post-Wenger era on the very same day that Unai Emery is confirmed as the new Arsenal manager, heralding a new era for the club, but also confirming that the Gunners are set to continue the Wenger-esque policy of buying up the top young talents of Europe and training them up at the Hale End Academy.

The 16 year-old goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein has joined Arsenal after a successful trial and becomes the first player from his club, FC Nomme United in the Fourth Tier of the Estonia Leagues, to earn a contract in England.

The youngster is currently the Estonia Under-17s goalkeeper, and Arsenal were probably alerted to his talents by the former Gunners keeper Mart Poom, who is Estonia’s goalkeeping coach. Poom actually only played twice for Arsenal in 2006/07 and didn’t concede a goal, but was lucky enough to Receive a Champions League runner-up medal by virtue of being named in the 25 man squad that season.

As you can see he is already nearly as big as Poom despite his tender years, so hopefully he will continue to progress and become Arsenal’s Number One at some point in the future….

wELCOME TO THE NEW-LOOK aRSENAL!

aDMIN

32 Comments

  1. He looks big considering his age. Hope to see him battling the first choice in a few years

    1. In other news, it’s Impressive to see Emery has texted Lucas Perez and told him to return for our preseason trainings because he’s got plans for him. I like the fact that he’s gon give Perez a Chance, at least we all know what he can do, and we do need him also considering we’ll have to focus on the Europa and top 4 finish.
      My gut tells me we’ll finish 3rd in the league

      1. I’ve always liked Lucas Perez! Arsene was clueless on how to neutralise his talents. He has a sweeeet left foot which kinda reminds me of RVP.

          1. Squad player, at best, and he wasn’t happy about it. I thought he got good game time for his first season same as Campbell but they are fools for expecting more so early. Walcott got 19 goals but his season was blighted, Perez and Campbell showed a lack of respect toward fellow professionals. They got a wake up call all the same and maybe should have thanked some Arsenal players for helping raise their game. Also the time and effort we put into Campbell, I am especially disappointed with his behavior. I think they might have let the fans words go straight to their head. The best way to thank the fans and earn more game time would’ve been to become that big game player who you cannot drop whilst also working on your attitude, like Freddie done all those years ago when he came up from nowhere at a time we were chockabloc.

      2. We could have used Lucas Perez services last on the wings as he is a much much better player than iwobi , let’s see how things pan out , Would love a Riyadh mahrez here…

          1. Wenger failed a lot of players over the years and continually stuck with his favoured few no matter how badly they were performing.To me Perez always looked sharp and hungry but was overlooked so much you had to wonder why Wenger bought him in the first place.Perez will give us an option and cover and if Welbeck is sold to allow the player to return then no argument from many I would think

      3. I hope that is true. I think Lucas is a good player and did well in the limited opportunities that he got.

      4. Bang on. Lucas got a rough deal. He has a great mental attitude and no shortage of ability. Expect him to shine if he gets his chance.

        1. No.
          Watched Lucas in Spain, and he’s far too inconsistent. Better than Welbeck? Yes, but much closer to him than to, say, Lacazette or Auba.

  2. Good prospect but I want first team signings! Early birds, I know, but I’d like to believe the board has a strategy in place regarding signings. I remember a few years ago Arsene and those clowns in charge was always struggling nailing transfers down. I hope that will change this summer seeing that Prof is gone now.

  3. The “youth policy”?
    I hope we use our own
    youngsters in the future.
    Why buy Gabriel 16m Debuchi 16m Chambers 16m
    Xhaka 30m Mustafi 34m Wellbeck 16m Lacazette 50m?
    On the Emirates stadium it reads
    “We don’t buy stars we make them” ?
    If that is true we will promote T. Bola and not buy a 25m CB.
    Walk the talk Arsenal

    1. Can you please inform us of the last star we made?If we hadn’t bought these players we would Division One by now.Absolutely ridiculous comment from someone who needs to stop playing with himself while reading that sign outside the Emirates.That was then and this is now.

      1. Phil, We have all come to expect this type of rubbish comment from barryglik. The last world class player to come through the club was ASHLEY COLE. Shame it had to be such a low class person but he was a top player. Wilshere? Don’t make me laugh. Lots of players who flattered but then deceived. Then you have to go back to Adams and before that Brady. Not much in forty years is it! Even very good players like Parlour were nowhere near world class.

        1. Fully agree with you Jon, Ashley Cole was probably the most gifted English left back of all time. I wonder if he ever regrets what he did?

          We have got some promising youngsters coming through and maybe now they will get proper coaching unlike the last 10 years. Our new Head Coach seems to have a good reputation for developing young players.

    2. trying to polish a gem in to a bright shining diamond takes a lot of time playing in the first eleven which top clubs cannot afford to do so, making stars and letting them play week and week out in the first eleven of youth players is the job of mid to lover table clubs like Southampton its essential for their survival, i’m not saying we shouldn’t have youth players but we cannot afford to let too many in the squad to build up experience, i acknowledge that its relay important to have youth teams under 16’s 18’s 21’s and specially 23’s where our long term injured players start playing to get back to full fitness and recovery, but if we are demanding trophies of our club then we have to buy ready made players

      1. its so tight on top flight a point or a goal difference could mean CL spot which could bring in group stage minimum of around 25 million, Totenham earned around 45 million this season where Man-U who got knocked out same time as spuds earned about 36 million because they qualified from Europa league

        1. The season before this last one just gone. When Liv pipped us to the top four. If our place hadn’t of become so toxic, and without all that focus on it, the stuff being said from every direction aimed at us. I believe Wenger and Arsenal would have kept the CL streak going. So I see the irony in Emery and our expectations being top four place. I also know people will still feel better about it because hopefully these wont be our highest expectations for too much longer. But it is a little bit of a slap across the face with irony …smack!.

    3. @BarryG, you can’t buy a star for 16m. If they become stars then yes we’ve made them. 16m for an under 21 England CB, a Captain no less, for me that’s a good bet. If we could bring over Godin when he was a youth, for 16m, or France Germany Italy any great nations captain and top CB. It’s called good business, problem is it’s not a sure thing and why would you expect it to be.

  4. its good emery is on board now. hopefully between the holy trinity they can identify and get the required signings to patch up the holes in wenger’s team.

  5. This article is about signing a young keeper and yet five out of the eleven comments above are using it as an excuse to have a go at Wenger. Y’all need to move on

        1. Just because Wenger is not here doesn’t mean the mess he left us in has gone with him.It will take time patience and money to sort out and Wenger and his ever DECREASING band of worshippers should NEVER be allowed to forget it.

          1. Wenger will be back, don’t know where, don’t know when, but we’ll see him again.

  6. May I remind you all that some of the fans here, would not have supported arsenal if it was not for Wenger. Negativity breeds negstivity, yes Wenger did crap , but he also did good.

    Every club must sign young talent, for squad building, business sense or we might just win the lotto. Face it, not all will be stars , even with proper scouting and proper coaching, but gems turn up.

    I which the young man good luck and I hope he takes is craft seriously

    1. your right about most arsenal fans of today outside of UK are supporters because of AW all doe still the wast majority is but we have lost a generation of supporters because of him staying beyond his capability specially the last five years, we will never know how many supporters we lost or could of had more if he had left

  7. Managers all do this even Pep, Pep will have a laundry list full of players to sign but he will have a good look at everyone and basically sell himself as being fair to them all. I reckon by the sounds of the interview Unai gave, he has some positions in mind that need something his game provides. He’ll have looked over allot of video as he’s said to be big with that stuff, and that’s why he was so good in his interview too. So unless players in certain areas can show a hidden talent I reckon they should be worried. Also this 50m business, a short while back we already admitted how it was a big mistake telling our fans that we had plenty of money (I forget the figure) to spend because teams became more difficult in negotiations. Mustafi and Valencia are a great example of paying over the odds for someone still with allot to prove. Dortmund too when we first got a real interest in Aubameyang, even though he’s in the top bracket of strikers the world over, I remember Dortmund talking about 100m/90m before the market had become that way (barring the top three/five wordy’s). It was shortly all after a Gazidas reassurance around renewal time and then it seemed we had no real money all of a sudden.

    I reckon we have 150m at least or after we cut 2 or 3 player wages we’ll have somewhere around 150 – 200m. If Mutd can reach 350m to 400m, and they can, and bottom teams can reach 50m – 90m, you’d have to put AFC at 150 at least.

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