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General Reserves Talk

  • Thread starter M+D
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MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
This is the right decision. He has great technical ability and can score goals but ultimately he should hone his skills as a #6 IMO. He'll learn a lot from playing there and ultimately I think that's where his skills will be more useful. His ability to pass forward, his touch when receiving possession, press resistance and his tackling ability. He has a lot to learn but with a potential Guendouzi departure and a possible midfield revamp, he's in an enviable position.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐

The entire interview is here. His goal is to become "the best player in the world". Ambitious lad :lol:. To be fair, he has the ability to be as good as he wants. So I guess we will find out.
 

lomekian

Essays are my thing
This is the right decision. He has great technical ability and can score goals but ultimately he should hone his skills as a #6 IMO. He'll learn a lot from playing there and ultimately I think that's where his skills will be more useful. His ability to pass forward, his touch when receiving possession, press resistance and his tackling ability. He has a lot to learn but with a potential Guendouzi departure and a possible midfield revamp, he's in an enviable position.

Always seen him as a 6 who can also play as an 8. Ideally we want midfielders who can rotate, so I agree that's what we should be grooming him for as a role in the team. He's clearly been one that has a real chance if he can stay fit and keep progressing. u23 regular next season, maybe some cup appearances off the bench...
 

Afro Mugo

Active Member
It's even crazier when you consider the ones yet to come. They have great ability and even more incentive to work hard for an opportunity knowing there is a pathway.
I agree It's actually scary the number of talents below this age group. The presence of Mertesacker and Edu is also a big deal now. There seems to be a plan. It's the one thing that probably gives me excitement. The current u18s are the best team in the country alongside Man City.
 

Afro Mugo

Active Member

The entire interview is here. His goal is to become "the best player in the world". Ambitious lad :lol:. To be fair, he has the ability to be as good as he wants. So I guess we will find out.
The one thing which Azeez has which is different from other young English talents is as Balague says less of a PnP player and more of a technical intellligent orchestrator with the athleticism to back it up. Bellingham, Musah, Loftus Cheek , Anjorin are all 8/10 kind of midfielders in the mould of Pogba. Azeez has the skillset to excel as a 6 , a position England has struggled to produce players. Winks is currently that player. Good to see he's a confident lad.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
The one thing which Azeez has which is different from other young English talents is as Balague says less of a PnP player and more of a technical intellligent orchestrator with the athleticism to back it up. Bellingham, Musah, Loftus Cheek , Anjorin are all 8/10 kind of midfielders in the mould of Pogba. Azeez has the skillset to excel as a 6 , a position England has struggled to produce players. Winks is currently that player. Good to see he's a confident lad.

It's interesting because we also have Charlie Patino who's about a year or so younger than Azeez and looks to have similar potential as a #6/#8. An advantage Patino has is the spatial awareness and positioning necessary to do the dirty work deeper on the field - Azeez is a bit mercurial at times, and his physical prowess definitely helps him in that regard. I think if Azeez learns to be more diligent about his positioning and his assertiveness in games, he'll be a top 5 CM in Europe. He has every other attribute at his disposal.

And it's very unlikely that his position will be so fixed that he'll never get forward. He has a sweet strike, if he can time his forays forward he can still be a weapon.

It's funny - Smith, Azeez and Patino would all be a pretty good 3 man midfield together. Maybe lacking a bit of presence in the pocket but while similar players, they also complement each other quite well. Cirjan looks a good fit for that kind of role. Quite a roster we're building up - we won't be able to hold all of them!
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
Had no idea Azeez was turning 18 in September, definitely one to keep an eye on.
I'd actually caution people from getting too hyped up about Azeez coming into the first team next season. He's got amazing natural ability both as an athlete and a technician but he isn't quite ready for first team football IMO. There's quite a bit for him to learn yet, and unless people are willing to be patient while he acclimatises to first team football, he'll probably not have as much of a positive impact on games as people would like. I'd liken it to Joe Willock's sudden rise from U18 playmaker to all-action CM for the first team in the middle of Belgrade in 2017. He'll likely hold his own and not look too out of place but he might struggle to keep up.

There will have to be a lot of development in a short space of time for him to do that next season. I don't doubt he has the quality, but I doubt whether he'll be ready so soon. Think Matt Smith is more ready for those kind of opportunities. Different kind of player but positively impacting games regularly. I'd even make a case for a player that absolutely NOBODY is talking about: Ben Cottrell, a small Wilshere-lite player - combative, very technical, great vision and pops up with goals too. I hope he goes on loan next season, he's definitely a sleeper talent. One that I can see having an excellent PL career if he leaves Arsenal.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
I'd actually caution people from getting too hyped up about Azeez coming into the first team next season. He's got amazing natural ability both as an athlete and a technician but he isn't quite ready for first team football IMO. There's quite a bit for him to learn yet, and unless people are willing to be patient while he acclimatises to first team football, he'll probably not have as much of a positive impact on games as people would like. I'd liken it to Joe Willock's sudden rise from U18 playmaker to all-action CM for the first team in the middle of Belgrade in 2017. He'll likely hold his own and not look too out of place but he might struggle to keep up.

There will have to be a lot of development in a short space of time for him to do that next season. I don't doubt he has the quality, but I doubt whether he'll be ready so soon. Think Matt Smith is more ready for those kind of opportunities. Different kind of player but positively impacting games regularly. I'd even make a case for a player that absolutely NOBODY is talking about: Ben Cottrell, a small Wilshere-lite player - combative, very technical, great vision and pops up with goals too. I hope he goes on loan next season, he's definitely a sleeper talent. One that I can see having an excellent PL career if he leaves Arsenal.

Another one is Bandeira who looks pretty good. He looks like a good athlete with technique. Man the group coming in from the U16 are real talented.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
Another one is Bandeira who looks pretty good. He looks like a good athlete with technique. Man the group coming in from the U16 are real talented.
Yeah man, Bandeira was already starting for the U18s this season as a schoolboy. Big, technical, can carry the ball. Really like the look of him.

This next intake is probably the most exciting one for a while. A well-rounded bunch of players. Can't look at any of them and say they don't have big potential. Edwards, Flores, Hutchinson, Norton-Cuffy, Foran, Awe, Monlouis, Patino, Bandeira, Sagoe Jnr etc. List goes on. Haven't even mentioned Sweet and Vigar!
 

Afro Mugo

Active Member
It's interesting because we also have Charlie Patino who's about a year or so younger than Azeez and looks to have similar potential as a #6/#8. An advantage Patino has is the spatial awareness and positioning necessary to do the dirty work deeper on the field - Azeez is a bit mercurial at times, and his physical prowess definitely helps him in that regard. I think if Azeez learns to be more diligent about his positioning and his assertiveness in games, he'll be a top 5 CM in Europe. He has every other attribute at his disposal.

And it's very unlikely that his position will be so fixed that he'll never get forward. He has a sweet strike, if he can time his forays forward he can still be a weapon.

It's funny - Smith, Azeez and Patino would all be a pretty good 3 man midfield together. Maybe lacking a bit of presence in the pocket but while similar players, they also complement each other quite well. Cirjan looks a good fit for that kind of role. Quite a roster we're building up - we won't be able to hold all of them!
The 6 position is definitely the hardest position to master in the game hence why most current 6s all started as 8s. I think its only Busquets and probably Rodri who've really mastered it at a young age. It obviously is good to learn it from a young age but I think both players will play further forward for a while. I'm afraid that in 3 years from now we'll be at a TJJ Balogun Nketiah situation or a Reece James Tariq Lamptey situation and only one of Smith and Cottrell and Patino and Azeez will have to stay. Its hard developing equally talented players in the same position at the same time. Though its a good problem to have. I think it played a part in Musah leaving . Too many bodies ahead and behind.
 

Afro Mugo

Active Member
I'd actually caution people from getting too hyped up about Azeez coming into the first team next season. He's got amazing natural ability both as an athlete and a technician but he isn't quite ready for first team football IMO. There's quite a bit for him to learn yet, and unless people are willing to be patient while he acclimatises to first team football, he'll probably not have as much of a positive impact on games as people would like. I'd liken it to Joe Willock's sudden rise from U18 playmaker to all-action CM for the first team in the middle of Belgrade in 2017. He'll likely hold his own and not look too out of place but he might struggle to keep up.

There will have to be a lot of development in a short space of time for him to do that next season. I don't doubt he has the quality, but I doubt whether he'll be ready so soon. Think Matt Smith is more ready for those kind of opportunities. Different kind of player but positively impacting games regularly. I'd even make a case for a player that absolutely NOBODY is talking about: Ben Cottrell, a small Wilshere-lite player - combative, very technical, great vision and pops up with goals too. I hope he goes on loan next season, he's definitely a sleeper talent. One that I can see having an excellent PL career if he leaves Arsenal.
Azeez gets all the hype because of his physical profile. Having somebody with such physique accompanied by technical ability is a coaches dream and shows potential of being a complete midfielder. However, I agree he's still behind Cottrell in the pecking order and I think Smith might leave on loan this season and Cottrell take his place in the first team setup. Edu's interview was quite interesting on how they plan to integrate youngsters in stages. I'm actually glad Cottrell can develop in silence AMN-esque.Chris Willock and Crowley used to get all the hype and AMN who was as talented just slowly crept his way to the first team but all the youtube compilations and social media hype were on the previous two.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
Azeez gets all the hype because of his physical profile. Having somebody with such physique accompanied by technical ability is a coaches dream and shows potential of being a complete midfielder. However, I agree he's still behind Cottrell in the pecking order and I think Smith might leave on loan this season and Cottrell take his place in the first team setup. Edu's interview was quite interesting on how they plan to integrate youngsters in stages. I'm actually glad Cottrell can develop in silence AMN-esque.Chris Willock and Crowley used to get all the hype and AMN who was as talented just slowly crept his way to the first team but all the youtube compilations and social media hype were on the previous two.

Smith prob should stay and get league cup games and FA cup games, while still playing U23 football.

If we qualify for the Europa league, Smith could even get game time there.

He has all the technical attributes, just lacks a bit of power and athleticism. If he goes on loan, I think the Bundesliga would be best for him.

I like Cottrell, hope he gets some opportunities, but it's gonna be tough for him to make it here.

I still think Chris Willock was the most talented out of AMN and Crowley group.

He just lacked power in his game and was a bit soft, kinda like Walcott lol.

Chris gave me a lot of Nasri vibes when he was on song. Just so fluid and graceful on the ball, could be quite clever too.

Wenger also rated him, but prob felt he wasn't quite ready physically and mentally. Actually always felt Wenger rated Chris more than Nelson.

Cause the whole Nelson as a wingback thing was so weird. And I never bought the whole thing of it being part of his education.

I wish he was patient and really dedicated some time to working on his body to improve power and also fix his shooting technique.
 

Afro Mugo

Active Member
Smith prob should stay and get league cup games and FA cup games, while still playing U23 football.

If we qualify for the Europa league, Smith could even get game time there.

He has all the technical attributes, just lacks a bit of power and athleticism. If he goes on loan, I think the Bundesliga would be best for him.

I like Cottrell, hope he gets some opportunities, but it's gonna be tough for him to make it here.

I still think Chris Willock was the most talented out of AMN and Crowley group.

He just lacked power in his game and was a bit soft, kinda like Walcott lol.

Chris gave me a lot of Nasri vibes when he was on song. Just so fluid and graceful on the ball, could be quite clever too.

Wenger also rated him, but prob felt he wasn't quite ready physically and mentally. Actually always felt Wenger rated Chris more than Nelson.

Cause the whole Nelson as a wingback thing was so weird. And I never bought the whole thing of it being part of his education.

I wish he was patient and really dedicated some time to working on his body to improve power and also fix his shooting technique.
Smith will be turning 20 in October. Same age as Olayinka. If we qualify for Europa and we can give him games he should stay . Otherwise I feel he should go on loan as u23s isn't challenging enough for him. He's outgrown it though I still feel he's one of those players who'd do better developing with the squad rather than going on loan. Willock was a skillful dribbler; probably the best we've had in the past ten years . However that was all I could see in him. He had a very poor shooting technique and wasn't a powerful dribbler neither did he create a lot for team mates, on the other hand I always vouched for Crowley. He tore up the u18s league as a 16 year old and was very good at passing and creating chances accompanied by his dribbling. Was rated higher than Grealish at Aston Villa. I don't think Wenger rated Chris better than Nelson though I still think playing Reiss RWB messed up his confidence because he's always been a central player despite his dribbling skills. Reiss plays like Griezmann.
 

krengon

One Arsène Wenger
Trusted ⭐
Only time I've watched azeez was in the under 17 euros(?). Was against France I think, tbh he did not impress me at all, but obviously a meaningless sample.. Looking forward to getting a better look at him, a lot of hype around him I've noticed..
 

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