Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal’s Youthful Foundation Ensures Bright Future

By Jabari LeGendre

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Arsenal are leading the hunt for the Premier League crown and its the Gunners young players who have stepped up to make a huge difference. With this young foundation Arsenal have a bright future.

On Wednesday many Arsenal fans lamented the fact that the Gunners squandered the opportunity to move even farther ahead of league rivals Manchester City and Leicester City. However for as long as I can remember, a hard fought point away at Anfield has never been a bad result before.

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When Arsenal was battered 5-1 at Anfield in 2013, I’m sure many Gooners would have been more than happy with a point then. I know this is supposed to be a season when Arsenal are truly pushing for the title, so any time points are dropped we will clearly feel disappointed. However I would argue that in the past, an Arsenal team missing three of it’s most important senior players would not have been able to come back twice to eventually tie the game and then go ahead to take the lead late in the game.

Whenever a last gasp goal hits the back of the net, it’s natural to be frustrated. However some times you just have to tip your cap and realize that neither team deserved to lose. We shouldn’t look back on this game with a despondent scowl, rather we should view this as yet another piece of evidence for Arsenal’s impressive young foundation.

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With Alexis Sanchez, Santi Carzola and Francis Coquelin all out of the game, it should be assumed that Arsenal would not play with their same midfield fluidity. This was clear in the opening stages of the game and when the Gunners went down early thanks to Roberto Firmino’s strike. It seemed as if it would be a very long day for the North Londoners.

However what Arsenal lack in midfield composure they have been making up for with youthful exuberance. While Carzola and Sanchez embody Arsenal’s world class technical ability, Joel Campbell and Hector Bellerin embody the Gunner’s spectacular explosiveness.

As Arsene Wenger has pointed out, Joel Campbell has become this year’s Francis Coquelin. However he actually reminds me of a former Arsenal demi-legend Sylvain Wiltord. Like Wiltord, Campbell is probably not the team’s first choice forward but when he is called upon, he brings a dynamism and directness that Arsenal would be in deep trouble without.

Furthermore Campbell has had a knack for coming up big in crucial situations for the Gunners this season, like Wiltord did in the beginning of Arsene Wenger’s reign in North London.

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His performances against Olympiakos in the Champions League and against Sunderland in the FA Cup, prove that Campbell is growing into his position and becoming a valuable piece of this championship puzzle. News of Campbell’s new contract have been filtering in and it is of course highly justified.

Then there is Hector Bellerin who is well and truly back after a slight downturn in quality he suffered after returning from injury. His speed and awareness have been mother’s milk for the Gunners. The pace he displayed for Arsenal’s third goal was reminiscent of the blistering dispossession and run which garnered him so much praise against Bayern Munich. When you pair that display with his double assist outing against Sunderland last week and you can see that Bellerin is back to his best form.

These two players comprise one of the most exciting and conspicuously young right flanks in the English top flight. The fact that Bellerin broke into the team only last season and Campbell has made only ten starts for Arsenal this season, proves just how promising that partnership truly is.

Arsenal’s promising young foundation does not stop there however. Calum Chambers has looked very solid in the defensive midfield role. He may not be Francis Coquelin but he has looked relatively comfortable in his recent outings in midfield. I believe he has looked better than Flamini alongside Aaron Ramsey.

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Arsenal FC /

Arsenal FC

Perhaps it is the defender in Chambers or perhaps he is now aware of his glaring lack of pace, but the young Englishman is less likely to push forward and leave his defense exposed. With time Chambers will learn to make that role his own and even with the arrival of Mohammed Elneny, I still tip Chambers for the holding role.

Then there is the promising duo of Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Alex Iwobi. The latter seems to be a very exciting prospect indeed. Wenger’s decision to thrust him into Mesut Ozil’s position during the Gunner’s last FA Cup clash was certainly a gamble but it paid off well. Adelaide will surely grow into a silky midfielder as well and with time I can see both of these players breaking into the first team perhaps after a loan spell.

In the end though the most important factor to Arsenal’s success is the maturation of their leaders. Aaron Ramsey is the perfect example of this. Its easy to forget that Ramsey is still only 25, because the Welshman has been contributing for the Gunners for so long. But now we see how Ramsey has grown as  a leader on the pitch. In his last two games Ramsey has two goals and an assist to his name, showing he is available to make an impact when called upon. Ramsey has always scored big goals but now it seems that he knows how to pick his spots to make an impact rather than rushing forward at every chance.

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Even Theo Walcott is becoming a more aware player. Against Liverpool he probably had his worst game of the season, but before that he supplied a very important assist for Joel Campbell. Also, since his return to the first team, there has been a clear uptick in his defensive contribution.

As Arsenal’s youngsters grow and their current leaders mature even further in their ascended roles, the Gunners will be able to replicate this success for years to come.

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