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As the clock ticked towards the 80th minute, Frazier Campbell emerged from the dugout to earn his first England cap against the prestigious opponents of Holland. The Sunderland striker replaced Danny Welbeck, highlighting a coming together of the past and present of Manchester United’s academy graduates.
Stuart Pearce’s original squad consisted of six Red Devils, with Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck both shining examples of recent produce from the youth ranks at Old Trafford. In stark contrast Arsenal had just one representative in Theo Walcott, although that will be bolstered with the return of Jack Wilshere and the development of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It does however raise the issue as to why Arsenal’s youth set-up is held in higher regard over the likes of Manchester United.
The Gunners have built a reputation around their supposed superior youth set-up, but it would seem that few players are actually reaching their potential. Over the past decade we’ve seen the likes of Stuart Taylor, David Bentley, Jermaine Pennant and Justin Hoyte all feature regularly for the U’21 side but only Bentley has made the transition into the first team, and that was after he’d left Arsenal. Is it fair to say Arsene’s prized stars of the future have slowly faded away?
Manchester United on the other hand have a recent past littered with players who’ve struggled to replicate the success of the ‘golden generation’. Fergie’s continued reliance on the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes speaks volumes in his unwillingness to place all his eggs in his adolescent basket.
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Despite many failing to make the grade at Old Trafford, there is a strong presence of former players established throughout the Premier League. Ryan Shawcross is one of the many formidable rocks in Stoke’s defence, Danny Simpson has found a new home at Newcastle and Everton look like they’ll prosper from the recent departure of Darron Gibson. It’s also important to mention that both Roy Keane and Steve Bruce’s time at Sunderland has had a beneficial impact on the careers of Kieran Richardson, Phil Bardsley and of course Fraizer Campbell.
However, it appears as though Ferguson is dealing with a growing amount of unrest in his daycare centre with ‘player power’ threatening to bring promising careers to a halt. The departure of highly regarded Ravel Morrison is perhaps a sign of things to come with fellow contract ‘rebels’ Paul Pogba and Ezekiel Fryers reportedly being issued an ultimatum with regards to their respective futures at the club.
Arsenal don’t appear to harbour the same troubles with the likes of Jack Wilshere and Emmanual Frimpong often professing their love for the club. There is the troubled situation regarding the future of Denilson, who has been shipped out on loan to Brazil, but that appears to be a question of his deteriorating ability rather than a commitment to the team.
Arsenal have perhaps avoided such confrontations due to Wenger’s philosophy that his young players should experience Premier League football sooner rather than later. Although this appears advantageous in the short-term, the Gunner’s boss has hinted that his starlets may need more time to mature and adjust to the physicality of professional football.
“We know now that a large percentage of players who play a lot of games between the ages of 18 and 21 have bony stress responses. I never expected the number to be so high.”
“It happens because your skeleton is not completely finished and the bones are not completely developed to absorb the kinds of shocks you get in the Premier League.” (Daily Mail)
A quick glance at the current crop of academy stars reveals that both clubs have an array of promising talent eager for their chance in the first team. At Arsenal Henri Lansbury is effectively cutting his teeth at West Ham whilst Ignasi Miquel has looked ensured in the Gunners defence when he’s been called upon. In Manchester the likes of Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe have both excelled at reserve level and will be hoping to build on their appearances in the Carling Cup this season.
Perhaps Arsenal edge their Northern rivals when it comes to moulding one or two exceptional individuals into their first-team but such is the strength and depth of United’s squad that perhaps they haven’t had such a desperate need to. Manchester United have clearly benefited better in a financial sense when they’ve moved players on, but is that the sign of a prolific academy or a failing one?
Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I’ve been watching this Jay-Emmanuel Thomas goal on YouTube and wondering how he never made more of an impact at Arsenal
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