Arsenal: Time to be brave with progress-stoppers

Arsenal and Unai Emery are cutting down their squad and trimming off the fat. As they make their reserve personnel decisions, it’s time to be brave and rid of ‘progress-stoppers’.

There is a coach in the NFL called Bill Parcells. He is one of the legendary Head Coaches of the sport, renowned for changing vast elements of the game, implementing new strategies and approaches, boasting a coaching tree deep and wide with a number of some of the greatest coaches of the modern era attesting their qualities to Parcells’ influence.

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Parcells has a label for some of his players. He calls those that are ageing and limited in their development as ‘progress-stoppers’. These are players who are not established starters and prominent contributors to the team but are simply there for depth purposes. Simultaneously, though, they are also older, many years into the careers, unlikely to improve from their current ability.

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Parcells’ philosophy is that it is better to thrust a young player who can offer 80% of what the older player can provide into the fold, understanding that the added responsibility and role could see them grow into a player greater than the older player they are replacing in the first place. There may be a short-term sacrifice. It may be a little risky. But the progress that it releases is worth it.

This is where Unai Emery and Arsenal are with some of their personnel decisions this summer. With the efficiency of their work in recruitment early in the window, recently, the focus of the transfer window has been on cutting down the squad, not on potential additions. And much of the possible departures that will come this week are players who could be deemed as ‘progress-stoppers’.

Danny Welbeck stops Eddie Nketiah; Lucas Perez stops Reiss Nelson; David Ospina stops Emiliano Martinez; even Calum Chambers stops Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos, assuming that Emery deems Chambers to not be a young prospect anymore.

The Welbeck case — he is reportedly being offered to other clubs this week — is especially interesting. This is a player who, when fit, has been extremely useful. His goals have come at crucial times in crucial moments, his positional versatility is invaluable, he provides depth at the striker and wide positions, he offers a pace and directness that is different to the other options in the squad. But at 27 with just a year remaining on his contract, is he going to be a long-term option for Arsenal?

Not really. But Eddie Nketiah or Reiss Nelson or Alex Iwobi all could be. They are younger, their futures, bar Nelson, are secure, and they have plenty of room to grow. But to grow, they require playing time, and Welbeck is stopping them from getting it. He is a progress-stopper.

As Emery and Arsenal continue to make their personnel decisions, for me, it is time to be brave when it comes to their ‘progress-stoppers’. It’s time to cut ties. It’s time to unleash the youth. It’s time to choose progress and potential over stability and consistency. Bill Parcells is right. Progress-stoppers are not worth it.