It’s that time of year again, Arsenal FC tend to stick by a consistent theme of promoting youngsters during pre-season or domestic cup competitions to see how they get on, to see if they are ready to make the big step to becoming a first team player on a regular basis.
Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Francis Coquelin are all players in and around the first team who have come from the AFC youth set up, including the latest to breakthrough such as Héctor Bellerín and more recently Alex Iwobi, who took the 2016/17 Premier League season by storm after being given the chance, and has taken it tremendously well.
Many emerging stars spent last season on loan or played in the U21 side who gained promotion to the top tier of development football, I take a look at who could be the next rising star at Arsenal.
1 – Chris Willock
Being just 18 years-old, Chris Willock has already shown Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger what he has in his locker after showcasing sublime performances for the U21’s when given the chance, his brilliant displays helped the U21’s secure promotion last season.
Willock is a natural striker who can operate from a wide position and then drives forward at defences using his pace to get the beating of his man, he is very technically gifted and can play on the shoulder of his opponent, a lot like Arsenal’s Theo Walcott but is just as comfortable receiving the ball at his feet and then turning to drive forward.
Able to operate across the front-line, Willock combines quick feet and a superb first touch with superb balance and a poise on the ball.
Unfortunately for Willock, he has the likes of Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck in front of him in the pecking order but has continued to train with the first team as they prepare for the new season.
Willock’s breathtaking performances have taken to the eye of Arsene Wenger who said; “Chris is a very gifted player with natural strength and natural talent. He has what you do not find very easily. He can have a go at people, can get past people in one on ones. We forget sometimes that the basis of team sport is to first be strong one against one and Chris has that quality.”
One thing that stands out about Willock’s game is his determination and clinical coolness in front of goal, at just 18 he has already played with an older generation playing for the u21’s, but was one of the stand-out performers, being the raw talent he is, Wenger will be eager to watch him in pre-season and keep a close eye on how he performs alongside senior players.
If Willock is able to continuously show his abilities again, he could certainly be thrown into the first team squad along with Alex Iwobi or may secure himself a loan move to secure enough playing time to help his progression and development. A loan move or League Cup action will probably be the next step for him, but as Iwobi showed, if you play well when you get you’re chance you’ll get game time.