St. Totteringham's Day comes later than usual this season. But a point at Blackburn on Monday will all but secure third place for Arsenal on account of their superior goal difference. And while 'everyone' is talking about Wednesday's Champions League Qualifying participation decider, my concern is the last two games for Arsenal in the league season.
A secure third place will allow the manager to consider some of the young starlets for a rare league start in the final game against Fulham. And if and when Wenger picks them, we know that they are worth watching for first team chances next season.
Two seasons ago, Denilson, Alex Song, Johann Djourou and Nicklas Bendtner were all making rare starts in a final win over Sunderland. Teeangers Armand Traoré and Mark Randall came off the bench. Håvard Nordtveit and Nacer Barazite, both 17, were also named as subs. As far back as 2000, one Ashley Cole got his Premier League debut for Arsenal in the season's final game at Newcastle.
Even though the club have as many as 15 (!) young players out on loan, we can still hope to see familiar young faces like Craig Eastmond joined by lesser known Arsenal stars-to-be. Eastmond looks to have taken his unlikely chance of first team league football with both hands, and looks set to be involved even more in the future. But who can step up alongside him?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment