Arsenal have a history of bringing up great players through the youth academy, and our Gooners here in the Tavern are excited about the next crop of talent to come through.
Current first team stars Hector Bellerin, Kieran Gibbs, Wojciech Szczesny, Francis Coquelin, Alex Iwobi and Jack Wilshere have all risen through the Arsenal youth team ranks to become international stars.
The rise of Hector Bellerin was very sudden, as he entered the side due to Mathieu Debuchy’s misfortune with injury last term, whereas the introduction of Francis Coquelin to first team football took much longer.
Some of the players mentioned above were signed from other teams but all before they made first team debuts and were drafted into the Arsenal academy.
This season, which looks to Arsene Wenger’s last in North London, looks set to be an exciting one and there is nothing more exciting at Arsenal than new young players coming through the club’s excellent youth system.
Here, the Landlord at the Tavern looks at FIVE players who have a real chance of breaking into the Arsenal first team next season and not just in the Capital One Cup…
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE WONDERKIDS!
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Jon Toral
Like many young players, Toral was sent out on loan to gain some valuable first team experience and few have benefitted as much as the Spaniard.
Toral spent the season at Birmingham City in the Championship where he scored 8 goals and claimed4 assists.
Toral was named as the Birmingham City player of the season by both his fellow team-mates and fans and won the goal of the season for his wonder strike against Ipswich.
Toral is best friends with Hector Bellerin and the pair could be a real young threat for the Gunners next year.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide
Reine-Adelaide made two brief cameo appearances for the Arsenal first team this season, both in the FA Cup but looked exciting both times.
The Frenchman is gifted with an excellent first touch and some terrific skills.
Arsenal paid RC Lens over £1million for the then, 17 year old’s, services back in 2015 and he was given his first taste of English football in the Emirates Cup for the Arsenal first team against Wolfsburg, where his fantastic dribbling left the Arsenal fans in awe and wanting to see more of him.
Daniel Crowley
People say that Crowley is the next Jack Wilshere.
The Bartender at the Tavern just hopes they mean in terms of footballing ability and not an injury prone, chain smoker.
Crowley is a passing master and Barnsley manager Lee Johnson who was Crowley’s coach for the first half of the campaign said that Crowley is “the best 18 year I have ever seen”.
Crowley has a lot of potential and Arsenal fans will bare in mind that Jack Wilshere broke into the Arsenal first team fully at 18 years old after a few previous appearances.
Gedion Zelalem
Young Zelalem had a great breakthrough campaign at Scottish side Glasgow Rangers this season.
The 19-year-old who has opted to play for the USA instead of his native Germany won the Scottish Championship with his side, and played a vital part in Rangers run to the Scottish Cup final in which Zelalem neatly tucked away a penalty against Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Zelalem is a so-called assist king and Arsenal fans at the Tavern can get excited about the prospect of the next Mesut Ozil.
Krystian Bielik
Steph Mavididi may feel that it is unjust that he wasn’t picked in this gallery after netting 15 times for Arsenal under 21’s this season, but Bielik pips him to a spot due to his great defensive abilities.
Bielik was signed by Arsene Wenger for over £1.5 million in January 2015 and has proved his worth in the Arsenal reserves.
The young Polish centre back who can also play in midfield has been a rock at the back for Arsenal, and will look to break into the Arsenal first team next season with the likes of Per Mertesacker looking too old and Gabriel under-performing.
