Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he could name the club's youngest-ever first XI for tonight's Carling Cup clash against Sheffield United...development and has traditionally used the League Cup to integrate his young gun's into the Arsenal first team.
But the Frenchman confessed he will go a step further this evening by selecting a starting line-up comprising almost entirely of teenagers.
“There is a possibility it will be the youngest team I have ever selected,” the Gunners boss said in The Sun.
“In the first team, we already have many players around the age of 20. At Arsenal you can say they are the experienced players. We will keep a few of those in the side for the Carling Cup but the majority of the team will be between 16 and 19.
“You’re likely to see Gavin Hoyte, Abu Ogogu, Aaron Ramsey, Mark Randall, Jack Wilshere, Fran Merida and Carlos Vela. Lukasz Fabianski, Alex Song and Johan Djourou will provide the experience and maybe Nicklas Bendtner will also play.
“But we will also have players like Emmanuel Frimpong and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in the squad, so it will be a very young side.”
The fact Wenger considers Song and Djourou to be the experienced members of his team demonstrates just how young a line-up he will field against the Blades.
Both are just 21 years of age and boast less than 60 senior appearances between them, while Polish 'keeper Fabianski, 23, has played just three times since arriving at the Emirates last year.
But Wenger insisted: “It’s always an adventure for a young group together. They can give us a view of how life at Arsenal could be in three to five years.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment