Is it time to stop the hype over our youngsters?
Over the last few weeks there is no doubt that our young stars have been the talk of the town and for some good reason. Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka especially have burst onto the scene and into the first team with their heroics and undoubted talent.
But as recent years have shown with youngsters, such as Wilshere and Walcott to name a few, this soon will die out when they become inconsistent and suffer injuries or burnout. Which we are seeing already with both players it seems as they need to be managed carefully.
As nice as it has been to see them surface and do well, Arsenal is not a two man team and does not need to rely on these two players to get us wins and points. As we saw against Leicester where Saka was left out and Smith-Rose came off injured, and in doing so saw Arsenal push on and win comfortably without them. I think there is a bit too much pressure on their shoulders which is not fair.
Their time no doubt will come where they will be the stars of the show but for now I think it’s time to let them be young, enjoy what they are doing and stop putting so much pressure on their shoulders week in week out to get us the wins. Because after all it doesn’t help the more senior stars of our team when the focus is on the youngsters as it makes them feel they are no good.
And yes, it can be argued that had the senior stars done better over the past few weeks then we wouldn’t have been singling out the youngsters, but sometimes all they need are positive words as a confidence boost to get back to their best.
So for all the pundits, fans and commentators who began all of this hype, continue to do so in a subtle way, but mainly save most of the hype and the talk for the future for the likes of Saka and Smith-Rowe.
They no doubt will be around for a long long time, but for now please focus on the seniors and help praise them where due in order for them to get their confidence back.
Shenel Osman