There has been a longstanding debate regarding the ability of U21 football in England to prepare prospects for the demands of the Premier League.
This season it has become increasingly apparent that Arsenal haven’t had much focus on the U21 setup in its traditional sense and are instead looking to promote younger players as quickly as possible.
For instance, there are only eleven players in the U21 squad who can be classed as full-time players at that level in the respect that they are not eligible for the U18s. Some of those individuals, such as Cam’ron Ismail, appear to have no future at the club.
Instead, most of the youngsters that have featured for the U21s, in the second half of the season especially, are still eligible for the U18s.
Some of the older players can get somewhat lost at U21 level – a case in point being Josh Nichols. Last season the right-back made his senior debut and looked a good prospect but now he isn’t even being included in matchday squads for the U21s.
There have also been cases where Arsenal have been unable to sell players and have instead let their contracts run down due to a lack of competitive senior minutes.
The EFL Trophy has helped to provide a useful conduit between senior and youth football but Arsenal have often suffered an early exit from that competition.
The best prospects are unlikely to spend too much time in the U21s – Max Dowman is already part of the first-team squad and Marli Salmon is a candidate for a loan spell next season.
Arsenal have also seemed eager to loan players out earlier than they previously did – Louie Copley and Will Sweet were both loaned out in the Winter transfer window after only a short spell with the U21s.
The likes of Andre Harriman-Annous, Ife Ibrahim and Theo Julienne will become full time U21 players in the summer but will already be considered as potential options for loan moves either in the summer or next Winter.
Luis Munoz, one of Arsenal’s standout prospects, will not be eligible to play for the U21s until the 2027/28 season, when he will be an U16 player, by which point that level may not be seen as an appropriate test for him.
At the other end of the spectrum, it is becoming increasingly rare for first-team players to feature at U21 level even when they are closing in on a return from long-term injuries. Furthermore, players who haven’t received much playing time this season such as Myles Lewis-Skelly aren’t considered for U21s playing time to boost their minutes.
There are also times when U21 games can be something of an inconvenience for Arsenal – the 7-0 defeat to Liverpool came with a rather cobbled together team as an FA Youth Cup fixture was prioritised.
With all that said, it is questionable what purpose the Arsenal U21 team actually serves. Some players, such as Salmon and Harriman-Annous, have benefitted from playing for the U21s over the past year or so but many youngsters seem to just be playing at that level until they are released or loaned out.
The club seem to have a clear idea of which prospects they rate the highest regardless of their standing in the U21 team at that time – Salmon was called up to the first-team squad in pre-season having only just broken into the U21 setup, while Brando Bailey-Joseph made his first-team debut with just one U21 appearance to his name.
What alternatives are there? Brentford have operated with a B team that doesn’t compete in Premier League 2 and instead faces a variety of different youth teams, including clubs from abroad.
It could also be suggested that the U21 age group needs to be changed to U20s or U19s (with a few overage players still eligible).
At present, though, there doesn’t appear to be much structure or purpose to Arsenal’s U21 squad, especially when concerns about coaching are also taken into account. The team are currently in 14th place in Premier League 2 and have found results and consistency difficult to come by.
It seems clear that something needs to change at this level in order to give players a more holistic footballing education and to ensure that there is a plan and purpose for each player.
Whether that will transpire under the new academy management, however, remains to be seen.
Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth 