Arsenal to promote academy stars to first XI amid ‘crisis’ fears – Insider
Arsenal will promote star players from their youth academy to help with their squad depth amid growing concerns.
This is according to former Man United, Tottenham and Aston Villa scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that bringing youth players through could provide a “huge” boost.
Questions have been raised about the club’s strength in depth after losing both Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to injuries, and the likes of Declan Rice and William Saliba to suspensions this season.
The Gunners’ first-choice team has rarely been available, and despite a strong start to the season, there is a clear drop in quality when a key player is ruled out.
This is in stark contrast to title rivals Manchester City, who are able to make like-for-like changes throughout their squad with little effect on their performances.
As a result, the Gunners have been tipped to explore the transfer market to help improve in that department when the January window opens.
Brown previously told Football Insider that Arsenal are assessing their squad for areas of improvement ahead of the upcoming window.
Should that prove difficult, however, they have been backed to turn to their academy which has proved a consistent source of talent in recent years.
Arsenal turn to academy amid growing squad pressure
The likes of Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe have all played important roles for the Gunners in recent years, while Ethan Nwaneri’s emergence has also been a bright spot.
Brown, who spent over a decade at Man United during their most successful period and worked closely with players at the top level, insisted that supplementing their squad with academy talents could help resolve Arsenal’s depth issues.
“There are always questions about levels,” he told Football Insider.
“Arsenal have done well to get to a position where they can challenge Man City, but in order to make that challenge successful, they need to improve their depth.
“There have been questions about a striker, about Saka, about Trossard. What will they do if Declan Rice gets injured? Before you know it, there could be a crisis.
“These types of questions will be asked by the scouting department as well.
“So they’ll definitely be looking for ways to improve that depth.
“Another way to do that is by promoting players from within to the first team. They’ve got two or three players who could step up and make a difference in the team.
“We’ve already seen it with Nwaneri, and if you get a couple of those, it’s a huge bonus.
“Man United have done it brilliantly over the years, even recently when you look at players who’ve come through their academy into the first team.
“If that’s something Arsenal can do regularly, and get right, it can be so valuable.”
In other news, Arsenal are plotting a move to sign Bryan Mbeumo.
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