The New Golden Age of Football?

[Pat Rice in Short Shorts]

Watching Chelsea roll out the likes of Gilmour today (an assured DM display at just 18 against Liverpool!) our wonderkids, the likes of Sancho and Haaland...the list of great young talent coming out of England, France, even the US and Canada now is endless. I suspect that all of the efforts to develop and coach kids in organized specialized development programmes has produce results quicker than anyone imagined.

Seems like every top club is trying the youth option, perhaps in response to the inflated fees for established players. What a good future the sport has with so many budding superstars to watch. Even better...none of them are Spuds!

Move over Messi and Ronaldo.

[alexafc12]

England has some fantastic young talent coming though. We really should be challenging for international honours the next few tournaments. Although Southgate isn't the man.

[Nuggets]

It is in our club that's for sure.

[Dejan]

Wait..so who are our wonderkids, apart from martinelli?

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[LMAO]

Wait..so who are our wonderkids, apart from martinelli?

Saka

[Dejan]

He is not a wonderkid lol.

He is not top tier talent

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[Arsenal Tone]

He is not a wonderkid lol.

He is not top tier talent

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He's exactly what Ashley Cole was when he broke into the team.

[LMAO]

How many LBs in their primes do you see getting double digit assists (okay, one away from achieving that at the moment) in a season, let alone a teen playing out of position?

[Angelito]

Apart from Martinelli and Saka, I don't have high hopes from the rest. Would be glad to have been wrong though.

[theHotHead]

Apart from Martinelli and Saka, I don't have high hopes from the rest. Would be glad to have been wrong though.

Willock is absolute bluster, nothing to see there at all. Nelson is a very poor man's Sancho. People going overboard because he finally managed to put in a decent cross for an assist.

[Dejan]

How many LBs in their primes do you see getting double digit assists (okay, one away from achieving that at the moment) in a season, let alone a teen playing out of position?

Yes that is impressive i admit.

However, he is not a good defender. And at lw he will struggle as he will have a lot less space and time.

Im happy with him. However i dont see him as elite tier talent.

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[Salibatelli]

This club despite investing milliions in youth, AW 10 year plan and all the focus on youth we have had over the years has a pretty poor record with producing quality young players.

In truth our scouting setup seems very flawed, we need to get ourselves some of what Dortmund have.

[PairyGrows]

While the youngsters on display all across Europe are undeniably exciting, I'm afraid I have to echo some of the less optimistic voices in this thread. Our young players aren't as great as some fans want to hype them out to be.

We have two players who I consider to be special talents, and they are Martinelli and Saka. The rest of our young players, however, don't have that same level of talent in them. They look like players who will make for decent squad players or will do well for an upper mid-table club in the Premier League at best. Then again, we're a mid-table club now so perhaps they're on our level.

As far as Arsenal are concerned, the 'Golden Age' doesn't look all that golden.

[Pat Rice in Short Shorts]

While the youngsters on display all across Europe are undeniably exciting, I'm afraid I have to echo some of the less optimistic voices in this thread. Our young players aren't as great as some fans want to hype them out to be.

We have two players who I consider to be special talents, and they are Martinelli and Saka. The rest of our young players, however, don't have that same level of talent in them. They look like players who will make for decent squad players or will do well for an upper mid-table club in the Premier League at best. Then again, we're a mid-table club now so perhaps they're on our level.

As far as Arsenal are concerned, the 'Golden Age' doesn't look all that golden.

My post was more about football in general, but I would ad Nketiah to the sure thing list alongside Saka and Martinelli. Willock, perhaps will develop more football awareness in the next couple of seasons. He has the tools. Same for Nelson, same for Guendouzi and Smith-Rowe. Saliba looks to be a great signing for an 18 year old man child central defender.

Chelsea were forced into playing their kids this season, while in the past they would be loaned out or sit in the reserves as the rotating managerial door put pressure on every manager to win right then and their development placed in the hands of what...30 clubs at one point? What did that cost them...well De Bruyne, Salla and perhaps ten other very good talents.

Under Wenger, for the last decade of his 'control' the youngsters got run outs in the League Cup or easy CL group matches then they were loaned out and ruined or ignored. Gnabry is the obvious call. The most critical time for a young player is when they are between 18-21. That is when they sink or swim and that often depends on the club and obviously their own mental make up. The basics are there, the raw talent is there, but the real test becomes when the chips are on the table.

If this squad gets three years together under Arteta, with a few strategic signings mixed in I can see us back near the top as the kids mature into pros.

[NovaGB]

Saliba is a wonderkid