Arsenal fans frustrated by Arteta reluctance to field academy wonderkids

Suraj Radia

• 12 Dec 2023 20:52 GMT
• 3 min read

There haven’t been many critical voices towards Mikel Arteta from fans in recent times but the Arsenal manager frustrated some supporters against PSV with his reluctance to give opportunities to the club’s young talents.

Arsenal were already topping their group in the Champions League prior to their final match against PSV, however Arteta chose not to give some of his youth players minutes, instead fielding fringe options such as Cedric Soares, Mohamed Elneny and Jorginho, all of whom are out of contract in the summer.

The idea that Arteta does not give minutes to young players may raise eyebrows to some, given Arsenal’s standing as having the lowest average age of any side in the Premier League during the Spaniard’s time in charge.

And while the likes of William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are all aged 22 or younger, Arsenal have not been as encouraging to their Hale End graduates outside of their established core.

Indeed, the Gunners saw talented striker Folarin Balogun leave in the summer after growing frustrated at a lack of first team opportunities, while Emile Smith-Rowe is also facing an uncertain future for a similar reason.

Arsenal’s rise under Arteta has given little reason to question him but the club’s identity of continuing to field academy players may need more attention to ensure the Gunners’ best young talent do not see their futures elsewhere.

Arteta’s pragmatic approach to low-risk games

While Arsenal still have plenty of homegrown representation in their squad through Saka, Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson, the only academy graduate outside of that to play this season has been Charles Sagoe Junior, the 19-year-old striker who started in the EFL Cup against Brentford.

Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player ever to play in the Premier League aged 16 in September last year but he has not featured since, while defender Reuell Walters has yet to make his debut despite being named on the bench on multiple occasions.

Arteta will point out that his team have rarely had opportunities to thrust youth players into the deep end, given their title pushes and early exits in domestic cup competitions but the game against PSV was perhaps one chance that the Arsenal boss did ignore.

Arsenal also chose to field a strong line-up in the previous European game at home to RC Lens, with Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly left on the bench despite the Gunners being 4-0 up inside 27 minutes.

Ultimately it is a gentle and perhaps pedantic criticism of Arteta yet it is a valid one that Arsenal could be giving more opportunities to young players instead of veterans like Cedric and Elneny, who are unlikely to be at the club next season.

Having seen the likes of Balogun and Joe Willock flourish at other clubs, Arteta could only benefit from allowing his wonderkids more game time and unearth the next Hale End gem to excite Arsenal fans.