Arsenal’s Best Academy prospects for the season
Arsenal are a team that prides themselves on their ability to churn out talented youth products and turn them into finely-tuned machines. So here we take a look at the top talents from the academy who can be expected to make a break into the first team, in the near future. Players like Alex Iwobi, Chuba Akpom and Hector Bellerin have been left out as they have already made that transition and will no doubt play an important role in our title chase this season. Issac Hayden, Serge Gnabry and Wellington Silva have also been left out, as they have made their moves elsewhere.
Defensive Stalwarts
Krystian Bielik
Arsenal has a painful lack of defensive quality in their system. With Isaac Hayden’s departure, they lost one of their two top defensive prospects. This man, Bielik, is the other.
The Polish midfielder is supposed to be just that, a midfielder – of the defensive variety. But he has since been moved to center back under the pretense of learning how to not let so many players get passed him. Fair enough, that’s kind of important. However, he is staying there and, according to Arsenal academy expert Jeorge Bird, it looks like the plan is to keep him there.
He has control, fire and passion. Everything goes through him because he required it to and having such a talented defensive minded player at the center back position is cause to be excited for.
Midfield Playmakers
Jon Toral
Now 21, Toral has yet to be given his shot with the Arsenal first team. Arsenal sent Toral back out on another loan following an incredibly successful loan at Birmingham City, where he brought home their player of the season and goal of the season awards.In the right circumstances, he could end up as Xhaka’s partner in future.
Daniel Crowley
Dubbed ‘The next Jack Wilshere’, Crowley could be gearing up for a run with the first team, next season.
Crowley was showing significant progress these past couple season up until this one. He showed tremendous control on the ball and innovation to boot. Plus, he is no stranger to scoring the distance goal either. Sort of like Vlad Dragomir, just less Romanian.
However, last season did not go well. Crowley was sent on loan to Barnsley and it just didn’t work out. Management said that Crowley had the world at his feet, but he was still returned early. If we had to hazard a guess, it looked to be because Crowley wasn’t as much of a team player as they had hoped. He was trying too hard to be the hero.
He registered just one assist on the year for Barnsley before returning home to the Arsenal U21s and scoring a goal and adding another assist. This year at Oxford United, he needs to show improvement after last year’s set back, otherwise he would turn into the next Jack Jebb rather than the next Jack Wilshere.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Were you really expecting this list to be complete without him?
It was a mixed bag for Arsenal’s loanees last season. Guys like Jon Toral excelled, whereas guys like Serge Gnabry and Daniel Crowley tanked. But joining Toral’s side of the loan spectrum is Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who excelled in 30 appearances with Ipswich Town. He scored two goals and added three assists across all competitions, retaining a starting spot for the majority of the season.
The only drawback to his loan was his mother, as strange as it sounds. Wenger has had problems with her before and Ipswich Town got their first impression of her as well, as she laid into the club for one thing or another, which lead to Maitland-Niles sitting out a significant period of time.
However, clearly his talent outweighed his mother’s mouth, as reports indicate that Ipswich would love to have the Arsenal man back for a second season with the club. Talk about making an impact.
Maitland-Niles is one of the few right-sided wingers in Arsenal’s ranks and he has shown tremendous promise at being the future of the position.
Kelechi Nwakali
No one has a stronger resume for success on this list than the Nigerian wonder-teen. It’s hard to beat winning the U17 World Cup and emerging as your team’s MVP. But that is what Kelechi Nwakali did and in the process, he earned himself a nice, cushy five-year deal at Arsenal. As an 18 year old, that’s kind of a big deal.
Nwakali compares himself to Yaya Toure, which could be the best news ever, as a big, controlling presence like Toure is what Arsenal has been missing in the midfield for far too long. Toure has become the gold standard for all-purpose midfielders, as he plays defense, passes, scores, controls – again, he just does everything.
The idea that Nwakali can become that is so tantalizing. He he was even given a first team shirt and figures to be training with them all summer.
He is just a bonafide athlete and, while only Toni Kroos and Cesc Fabregas have seen a solid, sustained career following U17 World Cup glory, Nwakali looks to follow up Iheanacho as the second Nigerian to do it in the past two competitions.
He may make an impact sooner than we think, but still, temper your expectations for this year.
Gideon Zelalem
Gedion Zelalem was an interesting case last year. One minute everyone in Scotland affiliated with Rangers (his loan club) was raving about how wonderful he was, the next moment they wanted him removed. To be honest, it was a lot like Mesut Ozil’s first year at Arsenal. Many claimed Zelalem looked uninterested and he didn’t hustle much. But when it came off, it was brilliant.
Zelalem has long been questioned because of his size. He is a lanky guy. But a lot of what he said he learned for Rangers inspired new confidence in him. He said that rather than try to out-muscle someone, he was instead focusing on not dawdling on the ball. He would get it and look to move it.
It worked pretty well, as he registered eights assists in all competitions.
We have always known what Zelalem’s strengths are. Again, let me invoke the name of Mesut Ozil. The American knows how to pass. He just sees things that not everyone sees and he knows where to put the ball to make stuff happen.
He is supposed to be given a shot at the first team this summer, but with all the midfielders already in the picture, we will have to see if that comes true.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide
Don’t look now, but Jeff Reine-Adelaide is one of the few players at Arsenal that is completely living up to expectations. Granted, it has only been a year, but even that is something to be excited about. There is a reason why Wenger spent so much money ensuring that the young French midfielder was secured.
Reine-Adelaide had himself a year with the U21s, scoring three goals and adding five assists as he shifted between a wide right role and the No. 10 spot. Given his plus size and passing ability, I can’t help but see a little Paul Pogba in him. But I won’t say that too loud, the last thing we need is a jinx.
Reine-Adelaide made some cameos in the League Cup last year and while nothing looked spectacular, what we saw in the U21 league was, which shows us that it’s all a matter of time before he gets the confidence to make an impact on the senior team.
The Frenchman joins Nwakali as two youngsters that are now proudly wielding first team numbers, so there is always a chance that we see a little bit more of what he can do, giving us more reason to freak out over how talented he actually is.
Vlad Dragomir
The Romanian 17 year old Vlad Dragomir was part of the wonderkid class of 2015 that saw the likes of Bielik, Reine-Adelaide, Donyell Malen and more come to the club. While no wonderkid necessarily has a ‘sparkling’ resume, Dragomir barely had a resume at all.
But what we do know, and have seen, is that this kid is intelligent on the ball. He is likened to Toni Kroos for good reason, as his passing is pinpoint and you cannot intimidate him off of the ball. He has shown a good shot from distance and can dribble deftly as well. He has all of those token pieces that Wenger looks for in his little midfielders.
Dragomir was not given much at Arsenal this past year, as he played sporadically for the U18 side and he never faced a promotion to the U21 side. He is a raw talent that will require a lot of honing, but the tools are there to make a complete midfielder.
Promising Goalscorers
Donyell Malen
Donyell Malen is that one kid we all knew in school that always played up a level in sports because he was just that good. Just 17 years of age, the Dutch wonderkid quickly rose up the ranks and overtook Stephy Mavididi on the U21 side for the starting striker role.
No big deal, he still had to do something with it.
And he did.
In just over 1000 minutes of play, Malen scored six goals and added two assists in his first ever venture into English football.
At the age of 17.
There is no other word to describe his talent other than remarkable. He suffered the ire of his nation when he left Ajax for Arsenal, but it’s easy to see why. This kid is supremely talented and could be knocking on the first team door within a year or two. He has the pace we crave, the finishing ability we lack and the all-around work ethic Wenger loves.
In short, he has everything we could want in a striker. And he’s only 17.
Malen landed a senior contract as soon as he turned 17 and, especially given the void at striker, there is reason to believe that Malen could completely change the long-term fate of Arsenal’s striker situation.
Chris Willock
Chris Willock is a quick dude. He has also risen through the Arsenal system incredibly quickly. Now 18 years of age, he has already solidified himself as a starter for the U21 side.
Let’s think of Willock as Wenger’s attempt to build his own version of Theo Walcott.
Whatever the case, Willock has the versatility to play all across the attacking midfield, but predominantly suits up on the left wing. With the U21s this year, he logged around 2,000 minutes across all competitions, imposing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the U21 side. His innovation was on full display, particularly in the UEFA youth league, where he managed a goal and two assists in 451 brilliant minutes of play.
Willock played every single match that he was in the squad and it’s plan to see why. While he only managed three goals and an assist in over 1000 minutes in the U21 Premier League, when it came to the playoffs, he showed up big time, scoring three goals in 180 minutes as Arsenal secured promotion.
The only thing not in Willock’s favor is the mass of wingers ahead of him. He has to contend with Alexis, Theo Walcott, the Ox, Gnabry, Iwobi, Reine-Adelaide, Joel Campbell, and possibly, new signing Lucas Perez. Still though, Willock could be the guy that jets through these rankings and emerges sooner rather than later.