The occasion, predictably, is the third round of the Carling Cup, the competition that Wenger has habitually used to advertise the youthful homegrown crop nurtured at London Colney and often eclipsed by the first-team foreign legion. While the manager has faced criticism for fielding a second string on this stage – as when his youngsters were badly exposed in last season’s 5-1 semi-final defeat to Tottenham – his strategy could be vindicated this time by the sheer depth of options. Against Sheffield United tonight Wenger can unleash a team forged almost entirely from his academy system, offering a glimpse of what a regular Arsenal line-up might look like in three to five years’ time. Refreshingly it is set to comprise four English players, an antidote to the notion that when Wenger looks to the future, he only looks abroad.
So confident is Wenger that the only experienced players likely to be on display are Alexandre Song, Nicklas Bendtner, Lukasz Fabianski and Johan Djourou — the Swiss centre-back yesterday having signed a new long-term contract. Even the word 'experienced’ should be qualified: of that quartet the oldest is goalkeeper Fabianski, at 23. Asked whether this would be the club’s youngest side yet, Wenger said: “There is a possibility. In the first team there are many players around 20. In the Carling Cup we will keep a few in there but the side will be more between 16 and 19. At Arsenal you can say 20 and 21-year-olds are the experienced players.”
The emergence of Jack Wilshere, the 16-year-old winger who troubled Real Madrid during Arsenal’s pre-season, has been well documented despite Wenger’s efforts to shield him from publicity and the Carling Cup could yet be his platform for more hyperbolic headlines. Alongside Wilshere are more tantalising talents, notably midfielder Mark Randall, 18, close to breaking into Arsenal’s first team more regularly after starting a match against Sunderland last season in the league.
Then there is centre-back Gavin Hoyte, also 18, a consummate captain of the reserves. “I am very excited because it is a new generation where the youngest boy is Wilshere, then Randall,” Wenger said. “It is very interesting to see a new generation come through, which is a little bit helped by having more experienced players around them, even though they are also young. It is always an adventure, having a young group together, and they can give you a bit of a view of how life at Arsenal could be.”
The squad at the Emirates Stadium tonight could reflect more radical experiments, with Wenger even considering giving a place to a first-year scholar, Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, who is nine days younger than Wilshere. Fabianski, suddenly rendered an elder statesman under Wenger, spoke of the ambition the manager’s approach has fostered: “If you wait, you will get your chance. It is really important to be patient. I do not want to wait too long to be the first-choice goalkeeper so I just have to do all I can to make it happen.”
| Young Guns | Starts | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Fabianski | 8 | 23 |
| Ogogo | 0 | 18 |
| G Hoyte | 0 | 18 |
| Song | 22 | 21 |
| Djourou | 45 | 21 |
| Randall | 1 | 18 |
| Merida | 0 | 18 |
| Ramsey | 1 | 17 |
| Wilshere | 0 | 16 |
| Vela | 0 | 19 |
| Bendtner | 20 | 20 |
| Likely Arsenal line-up |
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