Mikel Arteta is adamant he wants to blood young talent at Arsenal — and Tuesday night is the perfect opportunity for him to do so.
The Gunners have already qualified for the Champions League round of 16 as winners of the organization, so their match against PSV Eindhoven is a failure, as the Dutch club also qualified as runners-up.
It gives Arsenal a welcome respite before the busy festive period, as Sunday’s home game against Brighton will be the first of four Premier League fixtures in 15 days.
Arteta is expected to rotate his team on Tuesday night, and academy prospects Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sosua and Reuell Walters have all travelled with the squad.
Sousa and Walters are hoping to make debuts, while Nwaneri may be the youngest Arsenal player to play in Europe. Nwaneri is already the youngest player in Premier League history after making his Arsenal debut last year at the age of 15 years and 181 days.
“Something unique that he’s got that I really liked from the beginning is his ability to take the ball in tight areas, to escape a little bit like Jack Wilshere used to do,” said Arteta. “He’s got that thing between his teeth as well that he wants to show every single day how good he is and impress people.”
During the early days of his Gunners tenure, blooding young players was a key part of Arteta’s success. Academy graduates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were the driving force behind the club’s resurgence, but the production line has slowed since then.
Arteta made his debut with seven players from the academy, making 16 appearances in all competitions.
“It’s still early, but we have to get the device up and running because we want more and we want to produce more,” Arteta said. “And there are a lot of paintings in the academy, and it’s a wonderful honor for all of them, each and every day, for the number of paintings that they make. They do a lot, they have sown the seeds and now they have to be cultivated. “
The challenge for Arteta is that Arsenal’s prominence makes it harder to sign young players.
Saka and Smith Rowe burst onto the scene when the team was languishing in mid-table, now they are fighting for the name and competing in the Champions League.
“You also have to create space in the team to give that talent a chance,” Arteta said. “We’re going to have to not do it, because it’s a big component of what we have to do in the future. “
Arteta won’t have a better chance than tonight to keep his word, but he still took a team to Holland.
Part of the move is due to fitness issues, as Gabriel Martinelli fell ill on Monday and did not travel to leave Arsenal with fewer than five first-team players. Saka travelled even though he didn’t work out due to a knock as Arteta was looking for everyone. in Eindhoven to keep the team together.
PSV are already in second place and coach Peter Bosz has said he will make changes. The Dutch side’s defeat this season came to Arsenal in September, when the Gunners won 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
They also boast a 100 per cent record in the Eredivisie this season after winning all 15 of their matches.
MORE ABOUT