Arsenal’s loss has been Bayern Munich’s gain when it comes to Serge Gnabry.
The German left Arsenal in 2016 to join Werder Bremen before ending up at Bayern Munich. Today, he has 13 goals in 13 matches for Germany’s senior national team among other impressive stats.
Arsene Wenger claims that the Gunners had an agreement in place for Gnabry to remain at the Emirates, but the truth is, if they wanted him bad enough and believed in his abilities he wouldn’t have been sold.
Other players have felt disgruntled at the lack of first-team action and left their teams. However, we have to admit that Gnabry is the one that got away and we have to do all we can to avoid a repeat of that.
Other players are coming through the ranks at Arsenal that I believe could be a similar story if Arsenal doesn’t tie them down to new deals or involve them more.
Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Joe Willock are just three players that I believe have to be kept at Arsenal.
Smith Rowe is currently shinning on loan at Huddersfield and there is still no guarantee that he will be kept on next season. But he has shown glimpses of his talent and I believe he is truly one for the future.
Reiss Nelson shone on loan at Hoffenheim last season and had to be given more opportunities at Arsenal this season. He has been slow to impress so far, but I believe that he is another player that Arsenal cannot afford to lose as well.
Finally, Joe Willock is another one for the future, he is currently not a first-team starter which is understandable because of the quality of players ahead of him.
But he is too good to be thrown away and Arsenal may regret letting him leave too soon if he is sold in the next couple of seasons.
Gabriel Martinelli is a new signing and there is no risk of him leaving in the same manner that Gnabry left and Bukayo Saka has already broken through and is not in the same category either.
Obviously there are others, for example, Folarin Balogun and Tyreece John-Jules but the list would get a bit long and the focus of this opinion piece is on the players that have had some first-team action but not quite cut it yet.
An article by Ime
Anyone sold under 22 years old, isnt being given a chance. If a player has shown promise and has proved he can mix it with the grown ups, then it is upto the club to nurture that player as much as they can. There is not a lot too lose on a young player that is tied down to a good contract and given the time to develop his potential. There will always be a value for sale at the end of it to another league and a chance to even recoup some of the investment. It is far cheaper to nurture talent than buy average players at extortionate prices. We have to become better at growing our own youth.
But there’s a couple of dozen youngsters we have, Reggie. Most have to be let go as they won’t get playing time. Vast majority are also not good enough which is true for EVERY academy.
Martinelli, Saka, and probably ESR are the ones to keep. Willock maybe.
A big no to Nelson for me. Unless he goes on another loan to a Premier League club and proves himself. Don’t see that happening, though, despite his talent. Speed, ball control, passing, shooting all inferior to the talent Gnabry showed at his age.
There isnt a couple of dozen who have showed they are upto playing with the first team. Wether you rate them or not, or I for that matter, Saka, Gouendouzi, willock, Martinelli, Nketiah, Nelson, AMN, ESR for starters need putting on a contract that reflects their promise and given a full chance. That still leaves room for additions and players to be loaned. They should all be given a chance to grow and learn, to see if they become first team regulars. If not recoup some money by selling on.
This subject is a quandary for each and every club – the thought that you might be selling the future Ronaldo or Eden Hazard. And it happens with even the biggest clubs. We have, without any doubt whatsoever, a great pool of youngsters coming through, excluding those we’ve brought in like Martinelli. Some of them, like Saka, Nketiah and AMN have shown that they can handle themselves in big company. Willock has not convinced me yet. ESR is surely a very good player in the making. Nelson? A bit of wait and see. Here’s the thing. If the squad is strengthened by bringing in a few “big name” players, some of these youngsters will find themselves even further from the limelight and with that, game time. And what they need to really improve and claim a place in the team IS game time. Bottom line is we probably cannot hang on to them all. But add a buy-back option into a sales contract to leave open a back door.
Arsenal pay Saks 3,000 a week
Compare it with 350,000 other player gets
No much wonder he wants to leave
Sell 4 or 5 old top earners, share that 1,000,000.00 between the youngsters
What a ridiculous statement-name me one player in world football on £350k a week age 18. There will not be one.And you make it sound as though Ozil was always on this high wage.He wasn’t.
So which young players do we share that money on and which will you guarantee will prove to be worth it in time? You can’t.Nobody can tell just how a young player will turn out.Which is why they are paid what they are until such time they prove their true value
I never said Saka should be paid 350,000 a week. That was only used as a comparison of a player’s worth. Saka 30,000 with annual review would be fair. Same for some other promising youngsters. If Arsenal doesn’t pay them, someone else will
If I had to choose I feel we can’t afford to lose Martinelli, Saka, Nelson and Emile-Smith Rowe. We have already seen what Martinelli and Saka are capable of this season and they only 18 years old! So are obviously only going to get better. Nelson I feel hasn’t reached his potential. He has got amazing ability so I feel with the right manager (i.e. Arteta) he will reach his true potential. I even read somewhere when he and Sancho were both younger and playing together they rated Nelson more, so I just feel Sancho has reached his potential and Nelson has not just yet. And I also rate Emile-Smith Rowe, I don’t know why but I just feel he could be a star player for us in the future.
Those agitating for high wages for the youngsters are ahead of themselves. Remember, the kids need motivation to get better. Sometimes when you give a young lad a high wage, they feel they have made it and not work hard enough. Let’s give them a moderate wage and make them work hard for a higher one
Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah, Willock and Nelson are all good players and need to be kept at any cost in the long run, specially Saka and Martinelli. As for ESR he still needs more time out on loan and than we can see. Nelson will surely improve under MA because the basic ability is there and it justs needs to be nurtured.
Nelson is a no no
Saka- keep
Martinelli- keep
Nelson- keep
ESR- keep
Nketiah-keep
AMN- keep
Am keeping AMN bcos he did ok at RB in the absence of Bellerin.
Why does this headline include the mistaken description of “stars”? I much dislike hype and false descriptions and have endless battles with the Admins on this site about how loosely and slovenly they both misuse English. At times the headline does not represent the article beneath it and this is a dishonest and unethical tactic, much used, slyly, by downmarket tabloids. I would hope our admins might be more careful with language than this. The irony is that some of us who have strong opinions are often warned for our supposed “over the top” language but both Admins feel free to misrepresnt the articles, on occasion, by misleading and inaccurate headlines.
As someone who thinks precise words DO matter and IMMENSELY so, I ask all to think deeply about this subject. Unless we truly represent , in honest fashion, EXACTLY what we wish to say, it is inevitable that misunderstandings and needless arguments will ensue. SO MANY JIBES STEM FROM THE MISUSE OF “SLOPPY” LANGUAGE.
Not a single one of the many so called “stars” listed in this otherwise fine article can truly be, yet, called a star!
I didn’t mean to pay youngsters huge money straight away, it could destroy them. I meant they should get a yearly revue and if they warrant it they should get a bit of that 1m . If one player is worth £350k a week and another who is staring gets £3k, and could get much more elsewhere, where is the sense in that. They love their football but they have to earn what they can in a short playing time, they could get permanently injured next game