Arsenal youngsters join Liverpool and Chelsea youngsters to show why youth is important in the biggest teams


Arsenal youngsters join Liverpool and Chelsea youngsters to show why youth is important in the biggest teams
Emile Smith-Rowe (behind), Bukayo Saka (No.7) and Gabriel Martinelli (No.35) answered their manager’s call to be fighters and became warriors

The youngster trio of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe gave Mikel Arteta food for thought as they carried the team against Chelsea. The three of them played tirelessly and played for the badge as their passion uplifted the team’s spirits. Now Mikel Arteta has to decide if he has to develop his youngsters by giving them more opportunities or should he stick to the old guns.

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Youngsters played better than the seniors in one match itself

It is common knowledge that more than the seniors, it is obviously the youngsters who will show more passion. This is because they will be more eager than others to cement their places in the team as they don’t get many opportunities. Of course when you have a patient manager like Jurgen Klopp or Frank Lampard, you will get your chances.

For all the complaints you could have about Frank Lampard as a manager, you can never fault him for his commitment to youth. When Chelsea had a transfer ban, instead of despairing Lampard played his talented youth and they got him a top 4 finish. Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Reece James all came through the ranks and delivered good performance for the team.

Jurgen Klopp was forced to turn to the youth academy this season when Liverpool were struck with an injury crisis. Nearly 14 players were injured at one point of time with even the bench having injuries. Curtis Jones, Rhys Williams, Nathaniel Phillips and Neco Williams all got opportunities to play for the team and made the most of it. In fact Liverpool have just lost once this season with the youth playing and they’ve taken win after win. The most notable of the bunch is obviously Curtis Jones who has benefitted the most from the absence of James Milner, Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Naby Keita in midfield.

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It was Mikel Arteta’s turn to give the youth a chance as Willian, David Luiz were sick and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was rested along with Nicholas Pepe. Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe flanked Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka played behind them in midfield. It worked wonders for Arteta as all three had so much passion and it showed on the field. All three of them were lively on the pitch and it inspired the rest of the team to match their passion.

Alexandre Lacazette was a transformed man in the center of the pitch as Martinelli and Smith-Rowe infected him with their energy. Even Granit Xhaka was a changed man as he seemed more mature after his red card against Burnley. Lacazette opened the scoring with a penalty and Xhaka scored a beautiful free-kick. Bukayo Saka arguably got the goal of the bunch as he lobbed Mendy from the penalty box. No one expected the ball to go in and everyone were surprised when it went in, most of all Mendy.

Whether it was an intentional chip or accidental cross going in, the result was all that mattered as Arsenal had a three goal lead. Tammy Abraham scored for Chelsea and Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno saved Jorginho’s penalty and Arsenal ran out this match with three points. This match showed why Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe are important for the team.

Also read: Arsenal turn their attention to Julian Brandt from Houssem Aouar

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