Five Arsenal youngsters who may break into the first team in 2017/18
Arsenal have quite the reputation for being a footballing club who firmly believe in their youth. Arsene Wenger has spent millions on various academies in the hope that he finds the next big player.
The Hale End Academy remains one of England’s most elite academies and you’ll know that for sure once you’ve gone through the list of potential superstars they could produce to the first-team by the end of the current season.
And given the Gunners are currently receiving flak for being the side that’s fielded the most non-British players since Arsene Wenger took over, four of the five on this list have pledged their future to the English national team.
The Gunners have produced some of the best young talent in the game recently with Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi but the following five are just as impressive:
#5 Edward Nketiah
Confident, tricky and quick, Edward Nketiah is currently tearing the Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League a new one. He’s yet another fine forward making strides from the Hale End Academy to the Arsenal reserves.
And given he’s only 17, it seems even more impressive that Arsene Wenger regularly calls him to train with the first-team. Youngsters that raw are often inspired to do better when they’re around proven, world-class players and the Frenchman hopes Nketiah does just that.
The Englishman has scored 8 goals and has contributed 1 assist in the 13 appearances he’s made for the reserves in all competitions this season. While a loan move could be the logical choice going ahead, Nketiah could spend some more time around Arsenal before pushing for it – and that could be with the first-team in the cup competitions next season.