Arsenal make four exciting decisions and the fans will be pleased

Over the last few days, Arsenal has promoted four youngsters to the first team squad, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock are all now fully fledged members of the senior team.

That means none of them is going to go out on loan and will be given their chance to shine in the first team next season.

This is exciting news, this is exactly what most of the fans have been calling on the club to do and they deserve credit for trusting in our excellent youth.

It was always confusing to read that Arsenal was interested in signing this teenager or that teenager when we already had a crop of highly talented youth players.

All four have shown on some level that they have the ability and mental capacity to succeed on the highest level, Reiss and Smith Rowe have done it in Germany, Nketiah featured in nine senior games last season, including five in the Premier League and Willock, even featured in the Europa League final.

Other clubs, most notably Ajax, have proven that you can succeed with a bunch of kids and we had fallen behind in recent years, these promotions show that the club has taken the decision to give the youngsters a chance and let’s be honest, they can hardly do much worse than what a fair few of the senior players did last season.

I am excited by this news, I want to see these players playing regularly, hopefully, Unai Emery will have the courage to go with them whenever appropriate and not keep falling back on the established players that so often let us down.

62 Comments

  1. Great news indeed. Nelson our new no. 24, Willock 28, Nketiah 30, Smith Rowe 32. Looking forward to seeing Nelson and Smith Rowe shine the most

  2. it means we letting go of Bielik? very disappointed he isn’t getting a chance to prove himself.

    1. Especially if we let him go for virtually nothing, which is usually what happens! He deserves a chance with us, although I read yesterday that Unai has no role for him & AC Milan are interested……

    2. I agree. I was so excited when he was signed and have been waiting for him to get a chance. Have a bad feeling we will regret it if he leaves

  3. Only two more to be promoted: Saka and Ameichi? As for ESR I think he can fill Aaron Ramsey’s position, hopefully with less backward passes.

  4. Those promotions and the transfer rumors/news could mean Emery would use 4-2-3-1:

    …………………….Leno/
    …………………….Martinez

    Bellerin/ ……. Sokratis/ .. Holding/ … Tierney/
    Maitland-Niles .. Mustafi …. Mavropanos . Kolasinac

    …………….Torreira/ ………. Xhaka/
    …………….Willock ………… Guendouzi

    Aubameyang/ ………… Ozil/ ………… Iwobi/
    Mkhitaryan …………. Smith-Rowe ……. Nelson

    …………………….Lacazette/
    …………………….Nketiah

  5. Very good news but I am disappointed that Bielik is not being given his chance and is apparently wanted by AC Milan.

      1. I read that he wants to leave,he’s been offered new contract but does not want to sign ,only what I read though .

  6. All the news and plans are great.

    We are building a new squad and fresh young players for the years to come.

    Half of our senior players and starting 11 are 30 or over. Auba, Sokratis, Ozil, Miki, Monreal, Koslcieny.

    Glad the club is doing succession planning. Ajax is a good example. Hope we can have some success like them.

    I think the next season is the platform for youngsters to gain experience for the next few seasons.

    We should focus more on the football side and get excited about it.

    Yes we don’t have mega bucks but now we rebuilding the value of the squad so we don’t have financial contract issues in the future again.

    In 2 years time we should be a totally different club. Structure and team wise.

    COYG – Lets support the young players. Lets back the team, hopefully the poor performers like Mustafi etc. can leave sooner rather than later.

    Also we have Osei-Tutu the right back gone on loan this season, he will come back next year with experience and get promoted as well.

  7. I hope Edu coming in as technical director he will be able to use his contacts in South America to get some emerging young talent to the club early before they get noticed.

    The South American zone is untapped and could be a gold mine for us. It would be amazing if we could get the next Malcolm or Neres before they become known.

  8. OT: @AdminMart, strange we had just three articles yesterday which is very much unlike you. hope all was well?

    Meanwhile back to Arsenal, now that Edu as been confirmed for the most important post which oversees recruitment, I hope we can now kick off our transfers in full gear. Tierney should be a priority, we shouldn’t miss out on him for any reason. I believe we will have a competitive squad come the end of the window.

  9. Am very happy about the promoted young exellent players’ news i think they will add some good performances in our beloved club
    waiting to see the performances en thanks to the arsenal board for promoting our new exciting young talents

  10. Hopefully this means Iwobi will be fazed at gradually and Nelson will take his spot .lets be honest Iwobi is nowhere near Arsenal Quality ,and I think Emery as even that-now from last season .
    Willock looked our best player in the EL final when he came on .
    Like someone else said ESR looks likely to be given his chance in the middle ,where he should shine
    Not really been that impressed with Eddie with what I’ve seen but obviously he wasn’t given many opportunities.

    1. I’ve been seriously impressed with Eddie. He’s got a real nose for the goals and think he’s gonna be a very very good player for us

    2. Your dislike of Iwobi now seems like an obsession. Hope you’re seeing what he’s doing in the Africa Nations cup in the middle of the park? Thank God the manager is not blind as you appear to be

      1. No mate I wouldn’t watch that shit for all the money in the world .
        I’m an arsenal supporter not a Nigerian supporter.

  11. Tierney is recovering from a Hernia operation but should return to full training shortly.The fact that four of our talented youngsters have been “promoted” is excellent news and let’s hope Beilik is added to this list when he returns from holiday after the under 21 internationals.To my mind he is already a more impressive CB than Mustafi or Socratis.

  12. MORE Patience from the Arsenal fans as Unai rebuilds the team with a mix of experienced players, youngsters and new signings.
    If he gets the balance right we could be great again in two years from now.

  13. Great news.
    Love and interested in the future Reiss Nelson, Smith Rowe, Nketiah and Wilock

    Other young talent (22 or younger) I’m interested in their future are Holding, Chambers, Guendouzi, Bielik, Amaechi, Bola, Sheaf, John-Jules, Osei-Tutu and Saka!

    Future looks promising.
    Some are already in our first team

    Other Decisions that I hope we could make to make this Fan pleased include:
    1. Selling Ozil, Mustafi, Jenkinson, Xhaka, Elneny
    2. Signing wingers, a Central midfielder to replace Ramsey (we also sold Wilshere and Ox the last couple of seasons so desperately need reinforcing), CB preferably 2, and two backup FB (lb and rb)

    Obviously we can’t do all that this summer but, we need a good start this summer

  14. I have congratulated them above and it’s a great opportunity for them but we can’t forget this promotion is probably out of need than careful progression. They’re still young and they will no doubt have their moments but too much expectation and physical strain can be heaped on young players.

    Still , as I said I believe it’s because we have no choice and no budget to buy the going rate for quality yet expensive footballers on the market.

  15. We have enough for nearly 2 teams already.
    Just need a LB.
    Can let the Kos go.
    With 6 u21 the club may need Jenko and Bielik as quota players.

    Leno Martinez

    Bellerin Maitland-Niles Jenkinson Tierney Kolasinac

    Socratis Mustafi Holding Mavro Bielik

    Torreira Xhaka

    Willock Guendouzi

    Mkhitaryan Ozil Smith-Rowe

    Nelson Iwobi

    Lacazette Aubameyang Martinelli Nketiah

  16. can someone please tell me why arsenal take for ever and ever to sign players,the saga goes on for months, other clubs are linked with players, within weeks they are signed, we need a central defender but is mr emery blind to that problem,and if we make an offer for someone which is always low another club comes in and buys, i hope this problem can get sorted if it dosent we are heading down the table.
    ps i love the gooners

  17. Here we are all expressing joy at the promotion of four of our youngsters. I hope we would be patient with them and not crucify them when things go wrong.

  18. I love the fact that we have promoted the youngsters but looking at the squad of Agu Emens above does not excite me. That is a bang average squad that is not top 6 quality. We have fallen so badly………. League champions to must finish top four to a top 6 side to with that squad that will be scratching around just above mid table. Where has our ambition gone?
    I do think however we have a marquee signing up our sleeve to promote the new Adidas deal to sell shirts.
    Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, pikey spurs, will be shaking in their boots looking at that squad…..NOT!!

  19. The Freddie leungberg promotion makes sense now,if they had it in mind to bring these youngsters into the squad.
    Freddie knows these guys really well and he will be trying to make their transition as smooth as possible.

  20. ican now watch my club. ido not care whether there could any one coming in. i have watched these boys long enough to know their potential.

  21. The article is slightly misleading. Smith Rowe has not “done it in Germany”. He was injured for most of his time there. He only played a few minutes at most. However he had played in earlier Europa league games last season and looked a good prospect.
    It is great to see these kids come through but as most have commented here already: we have to be patient with them and support them. Its completely unfair on them otherwise.
    These promotions I hope are only viewed by the club and Emery to supplement the squad this season initially & provide depth/options.
    If we want to achieve anything in 2019/2020, we need 3 ready made player signings in this priority
    1) Centre back that is available this season. (Saliba is a great signing for 2020/2021 so not including here in the hope that the budget is not affected by his signing)
    2) Tierney is a must in my eyes. left back has been a long standing issue defensively
    3) Zaha – proven threat in premier league. would be amazing and add another dimension to attack so that we are not too predictable. I agree he is not worth €80 mill but hopefully we can get for £50 with player going other way etc

    I haven’t included a Centre midfielder – i don’t think its a real priority especially with Willock and smith Rowe potential. Maitland niles should also be tried now consistently in a CM position. The other area of concern may be right back cover for Bellerin. Unfortunately we seem to have no kids coming through in defensive positions

    Sell Jenkinson, Elneny, Mustafi, Monreal and loan out & subsidise wages of one of Mikhi or Ozil (i presume it will be too hard to get rid of both).

  22. i think that promoting young players is a good thing only if in the same time we buy good players ready to hit the ground running, Emery needs to find the right balance between youth and experience anyway Edu has finally arrived so we might see some movements hopefully!!

  23. I have seen a couple of squads posted in this chat that does not include Chambers. Am I missing something?

    I was surprised and disappointed that he was loaned out last season. His versatility (CB, RB, CDM) to me makes him an excellent squad option.

    Unless we get more than we payed for him or planning to bring someone in, then I really cannot see the point in selling Bielik, especially considering how thin we are in terms of CB options, combined with Koscielny and Nacho injury inclinations.

    Just don’t want Bielik to be Chambers 2.0 or even worse, Gnabry 2.0

  24. TIM, i would imagine KEV is away , busy chasing down the latest gossip and rumours for us !.or, he could be making up the latest edition of lies and transfer news .i was actually beginning to believe in him, until he swwore blind that tierney was a done deal , and, he would have wrapped up the signing by now.is is slightly entertaining though, being without football for so long makes the days boring and dull.but, on this site, there always seems to be one individual who claims to be a seer of sorts, i wonder all they all the same person. for instance, have they all ever been seen in the same room, or, have they been to a game together,hhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm, lol.

    1. Don’t you dare criticize the all knowing kev LOL
      probably waiting for Tierney deal to be completed before coming to brag here.

      1. oh i would never ever critisise our kev , lol.i am sure you are right , if, and , when, tierney is announced as our player then i see a lot of chest thumping coming our way. the words i told you so will be ringing in our ears. strange that he never answered the question about where the announcement has gone. after all, he who knows all said that the medical would take place last monday. now i know he lives a distance from london, but , surely there is not that much of a time difference between both countries.and here i was ready to promote him to guru status, well i was almost ready.i think he will have to pull off a large number of deals before the transfer window closes before anybody ever gives a fig about what he writes in future.

  25. hoping several of them boot out our “established” players. First Emery needs to actually give them a solid chance and not just bench them.

  26. Brilliant news. Well done Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock.
    We are still missing that creative midfield replacement for Santi Cazorla. Nabil Fekir is about the most creative on the market. This guy is up with David Silva and the Santi of some years ago. How can we not go for him at his present price? Is anybody awake at the Emirates????

  27. Willock, Nelson and Nketiah were already in the first team in Wenger’s last season and Rowe Smith was in Emery’s first season. What does this “new promotion” really mean? For them to get significant playing time next season, they would still have to be playing under 23 games so how is this different from their situation last season?

    I just see this “promotion” announcement a mere PR ploy to make the supporters to overlook what has emerged as a new awakening for the fans who felt it was Wenger stopping them from spending.

  28. Lovely. We needed some / more English / British players in our first team. I am so happy.
    Now i hope they take their chance and not disappoint us.
    I am so smiley right now ?
    May be now I can relate more to the team since the Cesc era ended.

    Come on you boys, do us proud at our Arsenal.

    1. Why?

      Were Wilshere, Ramsey, Gibbs, Oxlade, Walcott, Jenkinson not British?

      How did that work out by the way?

      1. Not all that bad. Years of contribution from Walcott and Ramsey. Others struggled with injuries but had good stretches too.

  29. Promoted and actually playing very different things.

    Much rather see Nelson on the RW than Mhki, and ESR in midfield not Elneny, not like the kids could do worse.

    No one expecting Nelson to score 12 PL goals. Use his pace to draw defenders and create some space for Laca and Auba to play in. Something Mhki could not do.

    Elneny didn’t create in the midfield and hopefully ESR can add that to the team. Putting Xhaka and Torreira on either side should help him add that creative aspect we need.

    More excited for the youngsters than another 30-something on another free.

  30. NEWSFLASH, news is just coming in that KEV has been reassigned by international press !.his whereabouts are top secret and only his editor knows where he is dug in presently. all will be revealed when he breaks the biggest transfer announcement of the upcoming season.TIDDLES ,the emirates cat,also known as the destroyer, has been retired, and, a new mouser, known as igor , is being trained up as we speak. this is an exclusive from the desk of kev, and he will reveal further details as they become available, and as soon as he is able to comment again.

  31. This is great news. We should be focused on building for the future right now. Just getting back into the top four shouldn’t be all we’re thinking about. Need to sign Tierney and a solid CB. I don’t think we should splash big money on someone like Zaha. I’d rather we got the club back in a stable financial situation, build a strong youth core, get our way back into the champions league. Then as wage space clears up over the next couple of years we can sign some excellent players to put us back in title contention.

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