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A Teenage Arsenal With Myles Lewis Skelly becoming a sensation on his England debut, I decided to take a look at Arsenal players who were teenage debutants for England and this is what I came up with courtesy of http://englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrs/PlyrsYoung.html I also decided to pick my best 11 from all the players in the above list but with my usual criteria. Cliff Bastin - his scoring record stood a long time Players I considered Cliff Bastin Walcott Wiltshire Chambers Chamberlain Skelly Saka Sterling Jack Butland Duncan Edwards Jude Bellingham Wayne Rooney M Owen John Barnes Micah Richards Luke Shaw Rio Ferdinand Jimmy Greaves Ray Wilkins J Woodgate Wes Brown Team I selected Jack Butland Chambers, Skelly, Ferdinand, Wes Brown Chamberlain, Wiltshire, Bellingham Saka, Bastin, Walcott Theo Walcott - still the youngest player ever to play for England Cliff Bastin 21 caps 12 goals Theo Walcott 47 caps 8 goals Jack Wiltshire 34 caps 2 goals Calum Chambers 3 caps 0 goals Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 35 caps 7 goals Myles Lewis Skelly 2 caps 1 goal Bukayo Saka 43 caps 12 goals How I made my selection Raheem Sterling also made it but I don’t feel he should be on the list as he didn’t play for Arsenal and England at the same time so far and maybe never will. With seven players I couldn’t make a team but I have decided to automatically include Arsenal players and pick the best of the rest. I also stuck to players from my own era although I included the legendary Cliff Bastin as Arsenal players were automatic. I filled the team out with Jack Butland in goal. Goalkeepers rarely get a teenage chance nor do defenders so pickings were harder there. I went for Chambers and Skelly as full backs and Rio Ferdinand as the only true top class defender from the rest. I chose Wes Brown to partner him but with 23 England caps he can hardly be called a legend. Should I have included Raheem Sterling? Attack and midfield had plenty of options but after deciding that Duncan Edwards, being before my time, couldn’t be included I left him out despite a lot of pundits reckoning him to be the greatest ever. I decided on a 4 3 3 and put Chamberlain, Wiltshire and Jude Bellingham in there. Ray Wilkins was also a serious contender but Bellingham really looks class. A very strong front three Upfront I put Saka, Bastin and Walcott, with Wayne Rooney, Jimmy Greaves, John Barnes and Michael Owen strong contenders. It is a strong side and as a few of these are still playing it could get even better. Nwaneri could easily come in there soon as well. Saka - Our best teenager ever? The fact that there are only 69 teenagers to play for England shows how unusual it is to get such a chance. Players have rarely come through the academy to the first team at that age so they won’t be picked. It does happen at small countries as academy players at top teams are considered better options than players who have never got out of the lower divisions. Many Irish players have this distinction with Robbie Keane among the most prominent. Jack Butland was the only goalkeeper I noticed on the list I feel only Bukayo Saka of the above is a contender for playing in the greatest English team of all time although Skelly and Nwaneri may make that category over time. Walcott, surprisingly, has the most caps although surely Saka will overtake him. Saka does have the most goals along with Cliff Bastin although Bastin achieved his in only 21 games. He must have been some player. Many players don’t make it For those of you who are younger among my readers, I can assure you of one thing, Walcott, Wiltshire, Chambers and Oxlade-Chamberlain were players who we were pretty certain, in the early days of their careers, would go on to true greatness. Injuries were the bane of their lives and they never quite managed to hit the heights their talent would surely have taken them. I have read that Saka’s injury is among that category in that it can be difficult to fully recover from. He is a player I want to see back to his best and, for me, if they waited until they were sure, I would not object. Yes, he would be a great boost for our small hope in the Premier League and against Real Madrid and the rest in the Champions League but I would prefer to take no chances. We need him to be at his best. I have waited all my life for Champions League success and this year may be one of our best chances but still I would view Saka’s career as more important. Ethan Nwaneri - could he be our next teenager to play for England? Arsenal, with seven teenage players, are among the top teams to have had many players with such a distinction. Max Dorman is already touted as being the next big thing and let’s hope that happens. Judging by the past, a goalkeeper and defenders are the most rare so it might take some time until we can fit the rest of the team but we are getting there, and I guess maybe Sterling has a right to be included. He is an Arsenal player who played for England at 17. I wasn’t sure if it was fair to include him. Our superstar teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly prompted this discussion and having seen him live a few times now I can say I just love watching him play. And I really love how the big superstar names around him like Partey, Jorginho, Odegaard, Rice, etc., have no problem giving him the ball knowing that he can do great things with it. Nwaneri the same. They know giving these players the ball is the right thing to do, they are fearless, they are strong, and superb footballers. They could be the mainstays of the team for many years. We need to nurture them, support them, allow them to grow and make mistakes, and we could have the new Xavi and Iniesta for example. Both have an eye for goal as well and it is difficult to be sure what their final positions could be. Both must be worth a fortune so we must keep them. And also to encourage the new kids coming along. Myles Lewis-Skelly - ready to become a great? Excelsior to the teenagers and c’mon the Arsenal.

Тази вечер Арсенал излиза в първото си гостуване за сезона. Срещата е част от 2-ри кръг на Висшата лига и в нея момчетата на Микел Артета ще търсят отмъщение срещу Унай Емери и Астън Вила. През изминалата кампания ''виланите'' нанесоха две поражения на ''артилеристите'', едното от които бе съвсем в края. Със сигурност този мач не се очертава да е едва ли не един от лесните, но миналия сезон Арсенал записа цели 42 точки във визитите си и допусна едва 13 попадения във вратата си далеч от дома. При всички положения щаба на Лондончани ще се постарае подобно постижение не само да бъде запазено и сега, но и дори да бъде надминато. Иначе ''точпиите'' посрещнаха кръга от 2-та позиция, след като на старта на сезона победиха Уулвс със 2:0 в английската столица. Бирмингамци пък заемаха 5-то място, като също спечелиха откриващият си мач - победа срещу Уест Хям като гост с 2:1. Тази вечер Арсенал има сметки за уреждане и изглежда готов! Още подробности преди мача: Кога: 19:30ч българско време; Стадион: Вила Парк, Бирмингам; Телевизия: Диема Спорт 2; Рефер на двубоя: Майкъл Оливър; Новините в Арсенал: Очаква се срещата да бъде пропусната от Кийрън Тиърни и Такехиро Томиясу, които са с травми съответно мускулна такава и на коляното. Под въпрос остава Фабио Виейра, който според информацията е пред завръщане в Порто под наем до края на сезона. По всичко изглежда, че всички останали състезатели в лагера на ''топчиите''са на разположение за селекция, в това число и Юриън Тимбър. Фото кредит: Арсенал Микел Артета преди мача: ''При всички положения това ще бъде един от най-трудните ни мачове през сезона. Напълно наясно сме с това и се постарахме да се подготвим максимално добре за това, което ни предстои. Наясно сме с това какво трябва да направим. Това, което искаме, е просто да спечелим мача и нищо повече. Да, наясно сме и със самата опасност, която може да дойде от противника. Те умеят да доминират в доста аспекти от играта. Ние обаче също, така че ни очаква зрелищен мач, сигурен съм в това. Изпълнени сме с вяра в своите възможности. Отиваме там, за да си тръгнем като победители. Това е.'' Фото кредит: Арсенал Игра с прогнози във форума на ASCB:

Do we have two teams and do we now have strength in depth like Manchester City or not? Team who started against Wolves David Raya O. Zinchenko Gabriel Magalhães W. Saliba B. White D. Rice T. Partey M. Ødegaard (c), Gabriel Martinelli K. Havertz Bukayo Saka The alternatives A. Ramsdale K.Tierney R. Calafiori J. Timber T. Tomiyasu J. Kiwior Jorginho M. Merino F. Vieira E. Nwaneri L. Trossard E. Nketiah R. Nelson Gabriel Jesus Raya Raya has cemented his place Above I have listed the team chosen against Wolves as a possible first team, although with obvious question marks over some positions. I will go through these against the best of the rest. Raya is Arteta’s man and I feel most fans are happy with that. But Ramsdale (if he stays)is a good substitute and I do not believe, with a good run in the side, that we would be weakened if he was playing. Strong at goalkeeping. White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko Calafiori has to come in? The defence is where there is now serious competition. Calafiori was surely not bought to be on the bench so that means Zinchenko to swap places? Can he take Gabriel’s place instead? I feel that the Saliba/Gabriel partnership is written in stone now so it would take an injury for it to be shaken up. White, Calafiori, Timber, Kiwior and Tomiyasu can all play central and full back so that leaves Zinchenko and Tierney as full back options. 9 for 4 positions seem to be strong and only Tierney has big question marks over whether he can complete a season. I suspect that Timber and Calafiori are the biggest contenders for a first choice position but Ben White’s understanding with Saka makes him hard to shift. Calafiori to replace Zinchenko then is my belief. Strong at defence. Partey, Rice and Odegaard next. Declan Rice will be hard to replace Rice and Odegaard are nailed on but Partey’s position seems open. Merino, if he comes, surely will take that spot. Jorginho always does well and would be first choice at most teams. Nwaneri seems to have pushed himself into the first team squad at 17 but he would need Rice to go back as he is an attacking midfielder. I suspect he is there for a reason and may well be the first academy player in a while to nail down a place. Still very young, though. Fabio Vieira and Zinchenko could do a job but neither are as good as the first choice. Havertz also does a good job in midfield. I feel we have reasonable strength in midfield but Rice and Odegaard are better than the rest and either or both getting injured could derail our title chances. Midfield not quite so strong in depth. Martinellli, Havertz, Saka Kai Havertz - is he the striker that we have needed? Attack is the area where we have the most concerns. Havertz up top seems to be working despite the 60 million being down the drain :). Jesus probably is not quite superstar level. Saka and Martinelli (if he has rediscovered his mojo) are possibly the 2 best wingers in world football. Trossard is an excellent backup. Nelson also puts in a reliable shift when called upon but that seems rare nowadays. For Nketiah it is the same. Attack seems vulnerable to something going wrong. Six are certain I think we can say that we have 6 players written down from the start: Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Odegaard and Saka. Calafiori and Timber may well prove to be the equal of Saliba/ Gabriel. But Rice, Odegaard and Saka do not have alternatives in my opinion. Three subs were used against Wolves, Timber for Zinchenko who was struggling a bit, Trossard for Saka who had got a yellow card, and Jesus for Rice who wasn’t as good as normal. The final two came on late when we were 2-0 up. Arteta doesn’t seem to like subs whereas Guardiola often uses all five. I feel that is a weakness, that Arteta doesn’t really trust certain players. Players come on after 80 minutes which makes it very difficult to have an impact. Jurrien Timber looks like a player you cannot leave out We were lucky with injuries last season. The previous year we were unlucky. I reckon that what is above raises question marks about our depth if something goes wrong. A top notch striker, winger and midfielder would be useful. But they would have to get game time. The fringe players last year got very little. For example, Reiss Nelson had 14 sub appearances in the league but I doubt if he got 90 minutes in total. Nketiah similar. Emile Smith Rowe also. Without game time players cannot improve and feel comfortable in the team. More players need starts and games I have listed 25 players and obviously some of the academy guys from pre-season are trying to push for a spot but I reckon no more than 15 players will get regular starts. Last year only 15 got 10 or more. If Arteta continues with late or little subbing then how will the fringe players get match-wise? You may hardly get the ball in a few minutes. Saka is irreplaceable I feel I firmly believe that we can only have a strong squad by rotation, by longer subbing, and by players feeling trusted. We will get punished this season if Arteta follows the same pattern as last year. Unless we get lucky with injuries again and the 6 critical players listed above start almost every game. My conclusion is that our strength in depth is open to question. We certainly do not have a like-for-like reserve in many positions. We will also probably have many players with limited game time when we do need a game-changer. I believe that Arteta needs to change his ways. I doubt if he will. We might pay for that.