Pre-season and the young guns..

Morning all.

Newcastle, Chelsea, Totts, Aston Villa, Man City and even Brighton have been pretty busy this summer. Hideous amounts of money has been spent already and that figure is only going to rise. Premier League players are switching clubs more perhaps than ever before. It makes sense though because the risk seems less, not that it always turns out to be the case.

Arsenal seem to be swerving the big money signings this summer at least so far anyway and whilst you/I might get a bit twitchy when other clubs nip in and steal a target of ours swiftly, it’s easy to lose sight of a player is only a target because the media told us so a few weeks ago. If Arsenal really wanted Morgan Rogers, I’m pretty sure they would have got him, something they did when Declan Rice really was on Mikel Arteta’s wish list.

There really is more to football than English and Premier League players. In six months time, it’ll be interesting to see how Christos Tzolis has performed because he might just turn out to be an absolute bargain. I for one hope he does because call me old fashioned, I love signings like him. They kind of remind of Arsenal’s early years of Arsene Wenger when players who I knew very little about joined the club and were brilliant. Before Tzolis’ name hit the back pages, I’d never heard of him and yet I’m really looking forward to seeing him play. Yes, I mean that because I really don’t give a toss what a player costs and refuse to judge him on whatever that amount might have been. Tzolis cost Arsenal roughly the same amount as Jurrien Timber.

This season, assuming they stay at the club, Max Dowman, Ethan Nwaneri, Marli Salmon and maybe even one/two others coming through the academy might just surprise us. Not so much Dowman I suppose as we all know what a dangerous player he is but Ethan, will his disappointing loan deal in France spark something inside him. If he has a strong and determined mental attitude, this season could be a good one for him and in my opinion.

This pre-season could see quite a few younger players involved because of the number of players still on their summer break. It’s their best chance to show what they are about ahead of the new campaign with their aim to be involved in both domestic cups at least. That’s certainly what I’d be thinking if I was them.

I know I mentioned Josh Ogunnaike the other day after he signed his professional contract but for an 18 year old, he looks a solid lad. If he has the footballing skills to impress Arteta, his involvement in first team training should continue this season.Speaking to Arsenal Media after signing his contract Josh said that his aim is to learn more and after a seamless journey into the under 21’s, he wants to raise his level to that of first team players. Perhaps we’ll see him involved in our preseason fixtures and new signing Elijah Upson too.

That’s why I enjoy pre-season. It’s the hope that one more youngster might just be close to following in the footsteps of those before them.

Catch up in the comments.