The Football Transfer Tavern was packed out with Arsenal fans this weekend who were down in London to witness their side play their annual two fixtures in the Emirates Cup.
Winning the tournament for the first time since 2010 after a noteworthy 6-0 victory over Lyon on Saturday and a 1-0 triumph over Wolfsburg yesterday, Arsene Wenger can look back on the weekend with glee.
With Arsenal rarely having not picked up any injuries in pre-season as yet too, things are looking up for Gunners fans who were also treated to their first glimpse of Petr Cech at Emirates Stadium following his much publicised summer transfer form Chelsea.
Aside from their new number 33 however, one of the stories of the weekend was the performance of French 17-year-old starlet Jeff Reine-Adelaide who was given a surprise start against Wolfsburg yesterday afternoon.
Brought into North London under the radar from Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens this summer, Reine-Adelaide’s performance was absolutely fantastic ensuring Gooners were kept on the edge of their seats when he was in possession.
For many Arsenal fans, they didn’t even know this guy had signed this summer with their full attentions on Petr Cech’s arrival but from the early evidence, Arsene Wenger could’ve done it again in unearthing one of the stars of tomorrow.
Already rarely described as a “special” talent by the Arsenal boss, we’ve listed five reasons why we believe Jeff Reine-Adelaide will become a future star of the game.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 reasons why Arsenal ace Jeff Reine-Adelaide is a future star.
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Because he’s brave in ball possession
Football fans aren’t stupid and can tell when a young footballer either has it or hasn’t.
From the early evidence yesterday afternoon, Jeff Reine-Adelaide has every chance of making it in the game with the most notable feature of his performance being how brave he appeared to be on the ball unlike the likes of Yaya Sanogo who has flattered to deceive after following a similar route into the club.
Aside from his assist to Theo Walcott who scored the crucial goal in the 1-0 victory, Reine-Adelaide’s other noteworthy moment was his dummy past Kevin de Bruyne who is currently in the midst of a £40 or so million pursuit by Manchester City.
How’s that for confidence?
We saw in yesteryear that Arsene Wenger used the Emirates Cup to blood a once baby faced Jack Wilshere and similarities could be drawn between both the England international and Reine-Adelaide’s performance with both boasting an eye-catching dribbling ability and braveness in abundance.
Because Wenger’s gave him first team experience so early
For all of you 20-something’s out there and those even elder, Jeff Reine-Adelaide was born in 1998 – now doesn’t that make you feel old?
The 17-year-old must have something in his locker for Arsene Wenger to have blooded him in the first team so early into his Arsenal career and with the French boss having done this with the likes of Jack Wilshere, Serge Gnabry and Gedion Zelalem more recently, Wenger clearly rates him highly.
Using his post-game press conference to claim Reine-Adelaide will not go out on loan this season in order to remain and work with Arsenal’s Under-21 side, it appears the Gunners want to nurture him at the club for the time being while perhaps throwing him in as a wildcard option part way through the season.
Because he’s come in under the radar
Make no mistake, Jeff Reine-Adelaide is currently at the heart of the hype machine having impressed so greatly against Wolfsburg yesterday afternoon but his stock is rising ever so dramatically simply because he was brought in under the radar.
Arsenal fans get more excitable than most but given all of the transfer attention was on Petr Cech earlier this transfer window, Reine-Adelaide arrived at the club pretty much unnoticed.
For Gunners fans to get a glimpse of the Frenchman yesterday while seeing what he is capable of, you can’t begrudge Arsenal supporters from getting a little carried away at the moment.
Because he’s already 6 ft 0 in with great balance
While you don’t necessarily have to be tall to become a good footballer, for players close to the 6 ft 0 in mark, you can bring other elements to your play such as heading and greater strength for example.
From the early evidence, Reine-Adelaide isn’t only talented with the ball at his feet but possesses great balance for a big man.
Graceful in his attacking play, on the face of it, it appears Reine-Adelaide boasts a fantastic combination of pace, balance and dribbling ability, skills which will give him the best possible chance to make a name for himself in the game.
The early evidence suggests he’s good at assists
Jeff Reine-Adelaide’s standout moment yesterday afternoon came in the 50th minute when he sent through a perfectly weighted assist to Theo Walcott to strike into the back of Diego Bengalio’s goal for 1-0 in the second-half.
When players so young manage to go up through the gears while boasting the composure to set up a team-mate, you can’t help but be impressed and perhaps even Arsene Wenger was surprised a little by his contribution against Wolfsburg.
The midfielder looks every inch an Arsenal player and when you consider he’ll now get the chance to work under a French icon in Wenger who as we all know gives more opportunities to youth than any other managers at a top club, he seemingly has every chance to become a future star of the game.
