It’s been a season Arsenal fans have got pretty used to so far, after results and form have slipped and improved within the space of a couple of weeks.
And with summer signing, Alexis taking it upon himself to grab all of the headlines for the Gunners, it’s easy to forget some of the talent we have waiting in the wings.
After Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott both returned to the starting line up against Brighton on Sunday, Fresh Arsenal want to take a step back, and look at who could be filling their boots this time next year.
We’ve checked out some of the up and coming talent in the Arsenal Academy, the very place the likes of Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Hector Bellerin have all burst onto the scene from.
1. Daniel Crowley
- Age: 17
- Position: Central Midfield
- Squad Number: 62
- Best Quality: Free-kicks
Now, if you’re a follower of Arsenal on Twitter, you may have already seen this chap’s name light up the headlines a few times. Daniel Crowley signed professional terms with the club just a few months ago in August 2014, after impressing during a years spell with the club after joining the Gunners from Aston Villa.
Since then, the Coventry-born playmaker has made a massive influence on the Under 18’s, and earnt himself a call up to the Under 21s, where he has capped off more appearances than any other member of the academy so far this season with 18, and knocking in 9 goals as well.
Now for a central midfielder to be scoring nine goals up until now, that is something we haven’t seen since Aaron Ramsey of last year, and no Arsenal midfielder in the first team is picking up that amount of goals this year, so there is something pretty special about this kid.
At just 17 years old, Arsene Wenger has commented that he see’s a lot of Jack Wilshere in Crowley, and that he is a player that plays for the club he loves.
His agility is what is key to making him so adaptable in the team, and if you were looking for a comparison, I’d probably say he’s like Santi Cazorla, who can change his play in a match just as easy as Alexis scores goals!
Crowley is an attacking midfielder more than anything, let’s remember that, so at the moment he’s got a massive challenge to compete for a first team place, all I will say is this kid isn’t going anywhere in a hurry, and has already proved he can’t be phased when stepping up to a bigger role. Press the page numbers below to see the rest of this article.