I was watching the footballing masterclass from Arsenal’s reserves at times against a very weak Derby side, and that got me wondering: what are the roles destined for the likes of Barazite and Nordtveit next season, along with returning loanees and the current players just outside the best 16? And more importantly, how much of a difference will these players make to the situation of not having enough squad depth to compete for the entire 38 games AND challenge for silverware in other competitions?
It has always been the plan that with each passing year, the conveyor belt of footballing talent will all get one year older and with that be promoted within the squad, and while this year the players on the fringe were that year too young, that year too inexperienced, will next year be different?
Over the next week or so I will be doing an article on each aspect of promotion inside the club - Loanees, Starlets, and Fringe Players, and see how much differece a year could make in our squad depth.
I shall start with the returning players from other clubs, starting with Carlos Vela.
Loanees:
Carlos Vela - A lot has been said by Arsenal fans about the 19 year old Mexican without him ever kicking a ball for Arsenal, and at the moment the trend seems to be to say he won’t be any use next season whatsoever, and that people saying he will be our saviour are wrong, yet no-one is calling him that by any stretch of the imagination. While he won’t be a first teamer immediately, not for a good few seasons most likely, he has the talent, the speed and the skill to make a difference off the bench, to change games as Walcott and Bendtner’s brief has been this year. He has spent two seasons playing first team, week in week out football, first for Salamanca where he was loved, and now at Osasuna in the second best league in the world, where he has drifted in and out of form like any 19 year old in the top leagues. An established Mexican international, he’ll add a bit more much-needed depth for the left wing position after a couple of months settling in England.
Mark Randall - Has struggled to break into the Burnley first team after a very promising couple of substitute appearances his first team chances have been limited very surprisingl. However, Wenger has always rated him highly, and I would expect his next season to be crucial in deciding his future. He has two options: to stay and fight for glimpses of first team action, or to tackle another loan spell at a Championship club for another season and see where it gets him. I would advise the latter because I can’t see him helping with Squad depth next season, with his game time more likely to be counted in minutes than hours.
Kieran Gibbs - After his great performance against Inter Milan in pre-season with the first team last summer, and then promising reserve performances followed up by another impressive game at Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, a loan spell at Norwich looked to be almost a finishing school before joing the first team squad next season. But the chances at struggling Norwich have been few and far between, never getting enough time to prove his quality, and the excitement surrounding him has died down. I think that most likely pre-season will decide his season, with the same choices as Randall has available to him to choose between. Purely because he is a wide player as well as being more versatile than Randall, sticking around could get him closer to the first team than another risky loan spell could, but I won’t be sure until he has pre-season with the first team this summer.
Fran Merida - Another difficult loan spell for a young gunner saw Merida travel back to Spain, with Real Sociedad signing him just before Chris Coleman was sacked as manager, and this was where it went wrong for him, as the replacement manager refused to start Merida, giving him a few minutes at the end of each game for no reason whatsoever. But that manager was also replaced I believe, and since then things have immediately looked better, with the young Spaniard netting the winner on his first start after the latest sacking. He has also been given a new long term contract recently and with that news I think that we shall see him around the first team set up next year in much the same way as Denilson was this year, playing the odd game as a substitute and starting Carling Cup games, gaining experience all the while.
Jay Simpson - The first thing to say about Simpson is that he has tried hard, both at Arsenal and now with Millwall, but I think he lacks the quality needed for Arsenal and a decent Championship club will come in for him and sign him for around £500K-£1m after his impressive spell at Millwall in League One. He has won several different awards there and no doubt a Wolves, Leicster, Crystal Palace type side will see him as a good substitute and one for the future and take him on.
Vincent van den Berg - Never has been impressive at Arsenal, and while I can’t say I know how his loan has gone I severely doubt it has been good enough to keep his career with the Gunners going. Therefore he will be leaving in the summer for pastures new as far as I am concerned.
Pedro Bothelo - Pedro has had a promising season at Salamanca so far, and will continue in Spain next year before coming to England in the summer of 2009.
