McGuane: The Reverse Fabregas

Pogue Mahone

The caf's Camus.
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
133,350
Location
"like a man in silk pyjamas shooting pigeons
In the frantic last 24 hours of the transfer window, there was one move that was never going to grab the bombastic headlines of everything else going on, but could well prove a much more important development in the long term. It was not just an inverse of all the intensity elsewhere, either, but also a reverse of another story from 2003 that itself developed into something much bigger.

That was 18-year-old Marcus McGuane’s decision to leave Arsenal for Barcelona. It comes 15 years after the London club captured Cesc Fabregas from the Catalans, and 12 years after a delightfully giddy six-year-old McGuane was photographed under the Spanish star’s number-four jersey.

It would obviously be outlandish and unfair on the English underage international to say he is going to be another Fabregas, but there are many at Arsenal wondering how this very talented midfielder was allowed leave. Arsene Wenger similarly rated him, having already used him in the Europa League. McGuane has instead joined a fairly exclusive group, becoming just the fourth British man to go to this great club after Steve Archibald, Mark Hughes and Gary Lineker and fifth player overall after Toni Duggan. That jersey is quite a birthday gift, as he turned 19 on Friday, two days after the move.

Less eye-catching but maybe more relevantly, McGuane’s decision also means he joins another longer list, and one that is really growing. The Greenwich lad is just the latest young British player to opt to continue his development on the continent. He follows Benfica’s Chris Willock, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Mandela Egbo, Willem II’s Dan Crowley, Wolfsburg’s Kaylen Hinds, Sparta Rotterdam’s George Dobson and perhaps most notably Borussia Dortmund’s Jordan Sancho.

It could be valuable for England but, much more importantly, valuable for the development of young players.

The trend also highlights something of a problem for English football, given that many are moving because they want the regular competitive football at that age that will properly develop them. The demands at top Premier League clubs are now such that academy players between 17 and 20 can fall into a troublesome grey area, where they aren’t yet ready for the first team but also aren’t really being given the proper football that will make them ready. The reserves just don’t cut it in that regard. Neither does safe no-consequence youth football. It means so many just stall, and maybe don't become what they might have been given that properly exacting experience at that age is so important.

This dilemma was of course one part of McGuane’s decision, but not the only thing weighing on his mind. There was also the fact that, with just six months left on his contract, he had as many as 30 clubs interested in him - including Juventus and Manchester United. Since he is “an Arsenal boy who adores the club”, though, Barcelona were really the only team he would have been truly happy leaving London Colney for. The thoughtful McGuane has always been enthralled and fascinated by them and wanted to test himself by trying a new culture - Sassuolo in Serie A were also seriously considered, as they promised first-team football. Aiding this move is that his girlfriend speaks Spanish, and it really became a no-brainer for someone that bright.

Once Barca’s interest was confirmed, and the idea of developing in-house through their B team - and in the actual Spanish second division - was raised, it was “impossible to refuse”.

He is essentially going to the Harvard of football, still the best education possible in the game, but all while getting proper professional experience. Even if McGuane doesn’t actually make it to the Barcelona first team - although it should be stressed he very much has the belief he can - the way they will complete him as a player will be invaluable.

If the decision also makes McGuane a rare British player to have joined Barca, he is also a rare player that Barca now have in their B team. They specifically wanted him because he has a hugely distinctive blend of technique and physicality. The Catalans often lack this exact type of player and, having first watched him two years ago, kept a close eye. They felt he had something. They realised they had to move once it was becoming clear he wanted to.

McGuane has already made an impression in the B dressing room run by former attacking midfielder Gerard Lopez, who himself came through this team before getting a move to Valencia, starring in the Champions League and then signing back for Barcelona.

Amid all of this, and through signing his contract in the wood-panel offices, the determined McGuane was still very calm.

It made a difference to what was going on everywhere else this week, but it fits a deal that could prove a difference.
Link

Are moves like this for the best? A better education for future England stars? Or a damning indictment of the lack of career progression for up and coming players at top English academies?
 

GloryHunter07

Full Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
12,152
Link

Are moves like this for the best? A better education for future England stars? Or a damning indictment of the lack of career progression for up and coming players at top English academies?
Both, i think.

Getting experience of a different style of football is most likely very helpfull but ultimately young players need games wherever thhey go.
 

Thunderhead

Full Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Messages
3,154
Supports
City
Both, i think.

Getting experience of a different style of football is most likely very helpfull but ultimately young players need games wherever thhey go.
yep this, the huge sums of money involved now means managers (with the odd exception) won't or can't afford to throw youngsters in unless they're at the level of someone at 24/25. The u23 experiment hasn't worked one bit from what I can see.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg
I don't buy into the lack of career progression thing. Chelsea get loads of stick for it, but if the players coming through were good enough to play for Chelsea, they would play for Chelsea. The opportunities are there, it's just that you have to be a pretty special talent to take them. A number of Chelsea's youngsters are on loan and getting games at professional clubs, some at a pretty high level. The career progression is there for anyone committed and talented enough to take it.

I think City are the only club you can accuse of shutting off any route for young players, in spite of the wave of propaganda articles proclaiming the opposite that were floating around last year. It's still not really a direct criticism. Just if you spend £50m on a player for nearly every individual area on the pitch, there's not really any room for anyone else, even if they might be good enough to deserve a chance. You don't spend that money on players to put a youth team player in ahead of them.
 

BootsyCollins

Full Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
4,240
Location
Under the roof, above the clouds
The problem for me is not that young players dont get games for the first team. McGuane will not get games for Barca week in and week out either.
Its the system thats really bad in England, and other places.
They need to have reserve teams in the lower leagues. Like the article states, he will play for Barca B and play in a pro league.
 

Ibi Dreams

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2010
Messages
6,146
I don't buy into the lack of career progression thing. Chelsea get loads of stick for it, but if the players coming through were good enough to play for Chelsea, they would play for Chelsea. The opportunities are there, it's just that you have to be a pretty special talent to take them. A number of Chelsea's youngsters are on loan and getting games at professional clubs, some at a pretty high level. The career progression is there for anyone committed and talented enough to take it.

I think City are the only club you can accuse of shutting off any route for young players, in spite of the wave of propaganda articles proclaiming the opposite that were floating around last year. It's still not really a direct criticism. Just if you spend £50m on a player for nearly every individual area on the pitch, there's not really any room for anyone else, even if they might be good enough to deserve a chance. You don't spend that money on players to put a youth team player in ahead of them.
I don't necessarily disagree with your main point, but you only have to look as far as Salah and De Bruyne to see two players who were good enough and didn't get the chances they needed
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,172
Can only be a good thing really, English footballing culture has been far too insular for so long, from the lack of young players willing to consider the move abroad, to the few big stars who have but invariably disappoint to a certain extent while making comical attempts to learn the language, to the managers who seem to exhibit little interest in alternative cultures. If even a small generation of talented British players receive a more rounded footballing education on the continent then there is the potential that their experiences will resonate on a broader level in English football.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg
I don't necessarily disagree with your main point, but you only have to look as far as Salah and De Bruyne to see two players who were good enough and didn't get the chances they needed
They weren't good enough at the time, and I'd argue it definitely hasn't stopped or stunted them in progressing their careers. Both are now playing for top teams among the best in the world. It's Chelsea who have lost out by not willing to be patient, rather than the players.

If teams just weren't allowing these players to have a chance either with them or another club then that's different, but that's not really the case.

Arsenal even right now have Iwobi in their team. That guy with the silly tash who they've started playing at full back. Wilshere, Ramsey. United have Rashford, Mctominay, Lingard, Spurs have half a team full. Liverpool have basically made their fullback positions into audition roles for young players. There is loads of opportunity. The problem is that the level required to take it is pretty high, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing as if someone has the right approach it will push them harder to wanting to reach that level.
 
Last edited:

mav_9me

Full Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
12,400
I don't buy into the lack of career progression thing. Chelsea get loads of stick for it, but if the players coming through were good enough to play for Chelsea, they would play for Chelsea. The opportunities are there, it's just that you have to be a pretty special talent to take them. A number of Chelsea's youngsters are on loan and getting games at professional clubs, some at a pretty high level. The career progression is there for anyone committed and talented enough to take it.

I think City are the only club you can accuse of shutting off any route for young players, in spite of the wave of propaganda articles proclaiming the opposite that were floating around last year. It's still not really a direct criticism. Just if you spend £50m on a player for nearly every individual area on the pitch, there's not really any room for anyone else, even if they might be good enough to deserve a chance. You don't spend that money on players to put a youth team player in ahead of them.
Salah, KDB are older examples. Christensen is getting games now but their fans have felt he was ready a while ago. Could RLC not have been given game time as a squad player.

I feel while many of the youth players may not be first 11 material, quite a few of them can be better used as squad players than continually buying half decent squad players like Zapacotta (whatever his spelling) etc.
 

FlawlessThaw

most 'know it all' poster
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
29,599
The problem for me is not that young players dont get games for the first team. McGuane will not get games for Barca week in and week out either.
Its the system thats really bad in England, and other places.
They need to have reserve teams in the lower leagues. Like the article states, he will play for Barca B and play in a pro league.
Agree with this though I can't see it happening in England where lower league football is lauded quite highly. To be fair we are not helping ourselves much by not participating in the Checkatrade Trophy.
 

Nick7

Full Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
19,231
Location
Ireland
I don't see why the move isn't for the best. Same thing as foreign players going to England as youngsters.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg
Salah, KDB are older examples. Christensen is getting games now but their fans have felt he was ready a while ago. Could RLC not have been given game time as a squad player.

I feel while many of the youth players may not be first 11 material, quite a few of them can be better used as squad players than continually buying half decent squad players like Zapacotta (whatever his spelling) etc.
Salah and KDB are two of the best players in the league. It is very difficult to argue that Chelsea have obstructed their career progression.

None of these players are being denied career paths or having their career path obstructed...unless their career path involves them not wanting to play for any team except Chelsea.
 

limerickcitykid

There once was a kid from Toronto...
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
14,051
Location
East end / Oot and aboot
I remember seeing him for Ireland u17s and thinking he wasn't much good especially for being one of the few from a top academy. Then he changed his name and switched to England.
 

RooneyLegend

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
12,963
They weren't good enough at the time, and I'd argue it definitely hasn't stopped or stunted them in progressing their careers. Both are now playing for top teams among the best in the world. It's Chelsea who have lost out by not willing to be patient, rather than the players.

If teams just weren't allowing these players to have a chance either with them or another club then that's different, but that's not really the case.

Arsenal even right now have Iwobi in their team. That guy with the silly tash who they've started playing at full back. Wilshere, Ramsey. United have Rashford, Mctominay, Lingard, Spurs have half a team full. Liverpool have basically made their fullback positions into audition roles for young players. There is loads of opportunity. The problem is that the level required to take it is pretty high, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing as if someone has the right approach it will push them harder to wanting to reach that level.
They weren't really given a chance. After the Bremen loan KDB only managed 152 mins of gametime in the first half of the 13/14 season, that's not a chance. Salah was sold immediately after the Fiorentina loan where he had done really well. It didn't stun their progression because they didn't hang around the place twiddling their fingers like some other players, especially the academy players.
 

JB7

Full Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
8,826
Agree with this though I can't see it happening in England where lower league football is lauded quite highly. To be fair we are not helping ourselves much by not participating in the Checkatrade Trophy.
I totally agree with us not participating in it. It is a terrible competition and I for one would not be happy with us fielding a side in it.
 

Boycott

Full Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Messages
6,306
Copying my post from the other thread:

As for your main point - while sadly correct - there is a little fallacy with how youth players are treated like a hot potato. Clubs who neglect their academy players just to buy experienced players then have to continue to play those signings even when they're stinking the place up to justify the money spent. An academy player costs nothing yet is the biggest victim in this because they're at the bottom of the pyramid.

Whatever you think about Tim Sherwood, he was spot on about his appraisal of Renato Sanches. Had an academy player delivered the level of performances he put in they'd have not lasted three games. I'm not suggesting Sanchez should have been returned to Bayern but it's yet another example where reputation and/or money spent immediately one-ups a player brought to the club over a player whose been their since childhood.

As someone who follows youth football I also resent the line many managers peddle which has been bought by fans - "they'll get their chance by being the best performing player in their position in training'.....take Chelsea as an example - how do we not know that Dom Solanke wasn't outscoring and out-performing Batshayi in training yet he didn't make a SINGLE appearance in 2016/17 while Batshayi who cost £25m or so continued to get game time despite struggling through the season.
 

Kostur

海尔的老板
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
28,749
Location
Poland, Kraków
I don't necessarily disagree with your main point, but you only have to look as far as Salah and De Bruyne to see two players who were good enough and didn't get the chances they needed
They weren't though. They would be now, sure, back then, no.
 

Classical Mechanic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
35,216
Location
xG Zombie Nation
Copying my post from the other thread:
Conte wanted another CB in the summer and was is 'surprised' by how good Christensen when he had to play him. Conte should start Hudson Odoi tonight if there was any justice. Chelsea were abject against Bournemouth and he put in a very good cameo. That said, Conte is giving young players a chance this season more than some others, but that is because of Roman tightening the purse strings.
 

ThatsGreat

Full Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
1,649
Supports
Arsenal
Arsenal have at least 3 midfielders ahead of him in the youth, AMN(who plays best at center-mid inspite of being used as a lb - he's the guy with the tache), Willock, DaSilva. Makes sense for him to jump ship. Doubt the club wanted to keep him or they'd have tried harder. The one talent that Arsenal need to keep is Nelson - got one year left on his deal after the summer. Trouble is that he's best mates with Sancho, and would definitely have his head turned at Sancho becoming a first team regular.
Also don't buy the logic that with the increasing stakes, youth development will not get preference. For teams like Arsenal/Liverpool/Spurs that can't compete with the Manchester clubs financially youth development takes much more precedence, as its about the only way they can keep up without spending a kings ransom every summer. Where would spurs have been without Kane, Winks, Rose, Trippier that came through their system and even Walker, Alli who were youth purchases.
 

Zlatattack

New Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2017
Messages
7,374
It's hard for clubs to give players chances. If Everyone else is fielding 11 grown men, seasoned internationals - can you really go through the course of a season with two rough 19 year olds in your side? Unless those guys are exceptionally good (Rashford, Rooney) - it's unlikely to happen. I sometimes wonder why the mid table clubs don't - some of them are too good for relegation but won't amount to much else all season. Fergie had a good approach where he used to give them time in the cup competitions, but with 6 teams actively hunting trophies nowadays, there are plenty of managers who'll settle for a trophy to keep their job.

We need to think about B teams in a competitive league, but do it in a way that doesn't harm the championship, league 1 and league 2.

Maybe we could have a new league below league 2 and have the B teams go into there. 3 teams get promoted every season into league 2, can go as far as the championship. Maybe you can only have a B team if you've been in the premier league for 10 years.
 

Zlatattack

New Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2017
Messages
7,374
Arsenal have at least 3 midfielders ahead of him in the youth, AMN(who plays best at center-mid inspite of being used as a lb - he's the guy with the tache), Willock, DaSilva. Makes sense for him to jump ship. Doubt the club wanted to keep him or they'd have tried harder. The one talent that Arsenal need to keep is Nelson - got one year left on his deal after the summer. Trouble is that he's best mates with Sancho, and would definitely have his head turned at Sancho becoming a first team regular.
Also don't buy the logic that with the increasing stakes, youth development will not get preference. For teams like Arsenal/Liverpool/Spurs that can't compete with the Manchester clubs financially youth development takes much more precedence, as its about the only way they can keep up without spending a kings ransom every summer. Where would spurs have been without Kane, Winks, Rose, Trippier that came through their system and even Walker, Alli who were youth purchases.
Don't blame the young players. Lookman was sat waiting for games at Everton when they were crying out for widemen, he's scored at RB leipzig.
 

ThatsGreat

Full Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
1,649
Supports
Arsenal
Don't blame the young players. Lookman was sat waiting for games at Everton when they were crying out for widemen, he's scored at RB leipzig.
Not blaming the young players at all. Just explaining why Mcguane chose to leave, it wasn't because youth development isn't a priority for Arsenal, its because we had better players than him in that position. And isn't Lookman on loan, he's still an everton player.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,180
Location
Flagg
They weren't really given a chance. After the Bremen loan KDB only managed 152 mins of gametime in the first half of the 13/14 season, that's not a chance. Salah was sold immediately after the Fiorentina loan where he had done really well. It didn't stun their progression because they didn't hang around the place twiddling their fingers like some other players, especially the academy players.
If you hang around twiddling your fingers when you are good enough to play elsewhere, who is it that's holding up your career, really?

Chelsea have players on loan all the time. They have players playing at other premiership clubs now. They don't just leave them all rotting in the reserves. They train them and then help give them the opportunity to make a career for themselves. They aren't handing things out on a silver plate but then neither is anyone else, and nor should they be. Part of where and how succesful a player ends up is always going to be down to the player.

The problem with a lot of this is this greater and greater sense of entitlement that is given to players. Because a player is on a clubs books, they are now entitled to a career there or to be given chances. This aas never the case before. And yet at the same time if the team finish 2nd in one of the toughest leagues in the world, the manager potentially looses his job. The two don't go together.


Chelsea not giving young players a chance would be Chelsea saying "feck It, were not train ing any of these youngsters anymore. Were not going to loan them out and get them games and experience at a professional level. That's it" ...they're not doing that at all.
 

DannyCAFC

Full Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Messages
2,409
Supports
Charlton Athletic
The luxury Barca have over teams like Arsenal and Chelsea when trying to bring youth through is the league structure in Spain. Having B teams means Barca get to keep their youngsters at home under the development of their own coaching staff and techniques, but also give them regular high level football in the Spanish equivalent of the Chanpionship.

The risk you have with that though is increasingly the gap in the lack of competitiveness between the top and the rest. Not only can the elite afford to buy the best players on the market, they now have all the resources and environment to produce the best too.

I don’t want to see a B team structure, but for the reasons I listed it is optimal for producing the best possible players. I would like to see these youngsters engage their brains a bit more when choosing clubs and think about the careee path and the chance of actual minutes on the pitch in senior football, and the way that these coaches are going to nurture them. Chelsea players for example you could say get plenty of minutes because they all get tossed out on loan, but where’s the actual development plan? It’s basically ‘go to these random different clubs season after season, be spectacular and we might give you a chance’. Too many are running to the allure of money and stature that the top sides offer and not thinking about much else.

Thankfully with the likes of Sancho, Willock, Crowley and now to a degree McGuane, we are seeing a shift in thought process and players branching outside of the norm and outside of their confort zones in order to pursue better development prospects. Hopefully they all do well and provide an eye-opener for future generations.
 

RooneyLegend

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
12,963
If you hang around twiddling your fingers when you are good enough to play elsewhere, who is it that's holding up your career, really?

Chelsea have players on loan all the time. They have players playing at other premiership clubs now. They don't just leave them all rotting in the reserves. They train them and then help give them the opportunity to make a career for themselves. They aren't handing things out on a silver plate but then neither is anyone else, and nor should they be. Part of where and how succesful a player ends up is always going to be down to the player.

The problem with a lot of this is this greater and greater sense of entitlement that is given to players. Because a player is on a clubs books, they are now entitled to a career there or to be given chances. This aas never the case before. And yet at the same time if the team finish 2nd in one of the toughest leagues in the world, the manager potentially looses his job. The two don't go together.


Chelsea not giving young players a chance would be Chelsea saying "feck It, were not train ing any of these youngsters anymore. Were not going to loan them out and get them games and experience at a professional level. That's it" ...they're not doing that at all.
They send them out on loan, even if they do, do well, they might keep them in the squad for the season and still not play them as De Bruyne found out. I agree with you that players should prioritize their own development over everything. It doesn't make sense for RLC to only be playing his first real season in prem football at the age of 22. The issue with Chelsea is they'll still go out and sign a Ross Barkley despite having RLC on their books. After Ake did really well on loan they brought him back midway through the season and quite simply didn't play him in favour of the exceptionally mediocre Cahill.
These clubs are pretty hopeless at incorporating youngsters into their teams. Due to demands for performance and an every growing appetite for new signings with bulging pockets there quite clearly isn't a plan for the young players they have. No matter how talented the players are, there's no cleat pathway to the first team.

The biggest issue with academy players is most of them want to play for the club they developed at. It's only sensible to believe that these players would like to be senior chelsea players. Chalobah said as much when he was being questioned about why he's staying at a club that clearly has no intention of giving him serious game time. Compare the Chelsea approach to that of Sir Alex and it's night and day. The whole support could be singing Fletch is trash and he'd play him, even when he under-performed. At the end of it we ended up with a useful player that contributed a lot to our most successful period ever.
 

adexkola

Doesn't understand sportswashing.
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
48,031
Location
The CL is a glorified FA Cup set to music
Supports
orderly disembarking on planes
It's hard for clubs to give players chances. If Everyone else is fielding 11 grown men, seasoned internationals - can you really go through the course of a season with two rough 19 year olds in your side? Unless those guys are exceptionally good (Rashford, Rooney) - it's unlikely to happen. I sometimes wonder why the mid table clubs don't - some of them are too good for relegation but won't amount to much else all season. Fergie had a good approach where he used to give them time in the cup competitions, but with 6 teams actively hunting trophies nowadays, there are plenty of managers who'll settle for a trophy to keep their job.

We need to think about B teams in a competitive league, but do it in a way that doesn't harm the championship, league 1 and league 2.

Maybe we could have a new league below league 2 and have the B teams go into there. 3 teams get promoted every season into league 2, can go as far as the championship. Maybe you can only have a B team if you've been in the premier league for 10 years.
We don't have to create extra leagues just to cater to the whims of big clubs who "can't afford" to invest in youth development and give talented prospects games. A club doesn't need to give games to their young prospects. But they shouldn't keep them rotting in the reserves. Let them go elsewhere, and if you want the finished product later, pay top dollar.
 

Classical Mechanic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
35,216
Location
xG Zombie Nation
Arsenal have at least 3 midfielders ahead of him in the youth, AMN(who plays best at center-mid inspite of being used as a lb - he's the guy with the tache), Willock, DaSilva. Makes sense for him to jump ship. Doubt the club wanted to keep him or they'd have tried harder. The one talent that Arsenal need to keep is Nelson - got one year left on his deal after the summer. Trouble is that he's best mates with Sancho, and would definitely have his head turned at Sancho becoming a first team regular.
Also don't buy the logic that with the increasing stakes, youth development will not get preference. For teams like Arsenal/Liverpool/Spurs that can't compete with the Manchester clubs financially youth development takes much more precedence, as its about the only way they can keep up without spending a kings ransom every summer. Where would spurs have been without Kane, Winks, Rose, Trippier that came through their system and even Walker, Alli who were youth purchases.
Aye, it's a bit of a weird one as he hasn't been considered in the very top bracket of English talent coming through. It will be interesting to what he can do in Spain. Made a sub appearance for Barca B at the weekend.
 

JSArsenal

Full Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2013
Messages
1,730
This was surprising because
the club had just done a video featuring him and six other youngsters the magnificent seven.

It looks like we've got the same problem at youth level that we do with the senior side. Willock's contract expired. McGuane only had a few months left (or a year or so). Reiss Nelson's contract is also running out.

He was highly rated but I don't watch much youth football, nor did he feature in the first team prominently so I don't have much of a view.

Whether his lack of relative game time was due to the fact he was planning to leave or that Wenger rates the likes of Joe Willock and AMN higher, I'm not sure. I don't think much of Willock but love AMN

If there is one club where if you're good enough, you'll play, its Arsenal. Hell, if there's one club that will give you an opportunity to see if you're good enough, its Arsenal. That was an absolute truth but lately Wenger's become much more risk adverse. Hopefully we start seeing a lot more youngsters in the team once we get out of this rut.
 

ThatsGreat

Full Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
1,649
Supports
Arsenal
Aye, it's a bit of a weird one as he hasn't been considered in the very top bracket of English talent coming through. It will be interesting to what he can do in Spain. Made a sub appearance for Barca B at the weekend.
Yeah, the op says that Barca got him for his physical qualities. I'm guessing thats because they've already have an abundance of skilled mfs. Arsenal would obviously be more interested in technical midfielders, as the youth system believes that learning that aspect of the game is more important for youth, and physicality can be built later. I certain remember Wilshere being built like a fairy, when he broke through. Now he looks like a middleweight boxer.
This was surprising because
the club had just done a video featuring him and six other youngsters the magnificent seven.
.
Yeah, that was a monumental goof up, maybe they were trying to get him to extend by promising to make him a movie star.