There had been talk in recent weeks that Arsenal youngster Jeff Reine-Adelaide was in line for a call up to the first team, due to his fantastic performances with Arsenal during pre-season, as well as his game time with the Under 21’s last year.
Arsenal previously gave a hint that he may be in line for some first team action, with the Gunners including the Frenchman in the starting line up of their opening preseason friendly. Adelaide has since been confirmed as being a member of the Arsenal USA tour and Adelaide was seen regularly training with the first team prior to the first match against Lens. It now seems that Arsenal have dropped their latest hint that promoting Adelaide is Wenger’s intention, with the young talent no longer featuring in the Arsenal Under 21 squad list. Instead it is highly anticipated that Adelaide will soon have his name and face on the list for the Arsenal first team and hopefully that way, Gooners will be able to see much more of a player that is very highly rated at the club.
Although I don’t expect Adelaide to play a major role in the upcoming season, it would be interesting to see him perform as backup to Ozil and Cazorla in that CAM position on the pitch. I’m also sure that Adelaide will feature in some, if not most, of Arsenal’s matches in domestic competitions like the FA CUP and League Cup. Reine Adelaide would then spend the rest of his time away from the first team linking up with the under 21’s in order to ensure that his development continues to rise in the hands of those at Arsenal. If not a loan could be in place for the young Frenchman.
Would you like to see Adelaide feature more for the Gunners next season? He certainly seems to have the potential to become a very good player for Arsenal, for many years to come.
By AH