Arsenal continues to be the ideal club for youngsters who hope to progress to the first team of a Premier League giant.
Although the Gunners have spent money on some impressive recruits recently, their first team has a number of players the club has groomed
They convinced Folarin Balogun to sign a professional contract with them last season, but they could lose another top youth team talent.
The Daily Mail says the Gunners are struggling to get teenage strike talent, Khayon Edwards, to sign a professional contract with them.
The 18-year-old is in the last year of his current scholarship at the club and has been offered a new deal.
He is yet to put pen to paper on it and there are clubs ready to sign him if he leaves the Gunners.
With 14 goals and 6 assists from 13 matches, it is easy to see why Arsenal wants to keep him, but his lack of commitment is also encouraging the likes of Chelsea and clubs around Europe to target him.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Convincing Edwards to stay has looked harder than we would have imagined, but it remains the best thing to do.
His goal record at youth level shows he has the talent and we might be talking about one of the future goal machines in the Premier League.
However, he may have already decided to leave, considering that several players are ahead of him in the pecking order at the Emirates.
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Any youngster at Arsenal would look at the treatment of Martinelli, Eddie and Flo and be very well aware of their chances under the current regime.
They would’ve all seen how underperforming players weren’t benched and favourites always get good game time regardless of form
@PJ-SA
RealTalk
A few promising English youngsters are willing to ply their trade on the continent in order to flourish.
Or a young player might look at Arsenal constantly fielding thr youngest team in the league and the likes if Ramsdale (over Leno), White (over Holding) Saka, ESR, Lokonga and Tavares (and recently Martinelli over Pepe) and think that if they are patient they’ll get a chance.
Having said that, I agree Balogun has been treated poorly given the sweet nothings that must have been whispered in his ear to get him to sign.
Ramsdale bought
White bought
Lokonga bought
Tavares bought
ESR only got a chance due to a bucket load of injuries, not through being given a genuine chance over underperformers.
So out of your list Saka was the only one given a real chance from the academy….you disproved your own point.
The point I was trying to make was that young players at Arsenal are getting chances to play over more experienced players (like Leno, Holding and Pepe).
I’m not distinguishing between Academy players and young players brought in. I don’t think Arteta does either.
Because we are out of Europe the squaddies are not getting a look in. With few injuries this further limits the 2nd tier opportunities. Auba and Laca are the most experienced and cost a great deal so Arteta is obliged to stay with them as much as possible. Players like Balogun and Edwards should go out on loan it is the normal pathway unless they are extra special like Saka. ESR went out on loan. Martinelli comes off a full year out wih injury so Arteta must be careful. But now more opportunities will arise with league cup games, FA Cup games, injuries and AFCON. Its careful man management and I fully support our management team
“Auba and Laca are the most experienced and cost a great deal so Arteta is obliged to stay with them as much as possible”
What a load of rubbish!
The fact is we can’t keep and play every young player that comes through the ranks in the first X1, there is bound to be some that leave to get 1st team football. It happens at every club, not just ours.
Edwards has got the talent and has shown his potential in the B team. The best thing for Arsenal would be to send him on loan for about a year preferably to another PL team to allow him to get first team experience in the PL that would help Arsenal in the long run.
We have limited first team games and Prem results are so key to our success that it is not logistically possible to include many merely promising but untried youngsters in Prem games.
That is an ongoing problem that all big clubs have and which will continue. All that has changed nowadays is that more fans moan about their personal favourute not getting an “adequate chance”.
It is the nature of the beast called top level football, I regret to inform the shallow thinkers on here .
Those who prefer to think more deeply will have noted that out team – the youngest in the PREM – is inconsistent, as all young teams generally are.
If you input even more very young players, the existing inconsistency will only become even more obvious.