Wonderkid Factories: Arsenal FC
Arsenal are one of the oldest clubs in England and the first team from the south to join the Football League in 1893. The club was only founded seven years before by munitions workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. They were originally formed as Dial Square in 1886 but changed their name just a month later to Royal Arsenal. Later on they were named Woolwich Arsenal and The Arsenal before they began dropping the ‘The’ in official documents to be known as they are today.
The Gunners maintain a fierce rivalry with their North London counterparts Tottenham Hotspur but the rivalry only began after Arsenal moved from south of the Thames in 1913 after the suffragettes burnt down the grandstand of their previous stadium. They would move to Highbury later that year and build a huge legacy as one of England’s biggest football clubs.
One of the club’s proudest records is the fact they have only ever been relegated once and that was as far back as 1913. They have never fallen out of England’s top tier since, and maintain the longest run in the top flight.
The move to Highbury was a turning point for the Gunners, with rising attendances providing new riches for the club. Their new spoils allowed them to attract Herbert Chapman to be their new manager. Chapman rebuilt the Arsenal team completely and the club would dominate the 1930’s especially the first half, winning 5 league titles and 2 FA Cups.
Since then, Arsenal have established themselves as one of the most successful English clubs winning 13 league titles, 2 League Cups and a record 14 FA Cups. They’re also the only team to have an unbeaten Premier League season which is a remarkable achievement considering some of the fantastic teams that have won the league afterwards.
The Gunners only real shortcoming has been in European competitions, failing to win both a Champions League or Europa League title. They are also absent from European football this season but despite that still sit 14th in UEFA’s club coefficient rankings.
Despite the fact that the club has regressed in the last five years and are currently experiencing a 17 year league title drought, their academy has been a shining light, especially this season. The Gunners have relied heavily on the generational talents of both Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe as their main creative forces with both now having played for England.
However, the club has always produced a number of very good players from their academy and it has been the foundation of some of their best teams. The list of Hale End products includes Andy Cole, Ray Parlour, Cesc Fabregas, Saka, Smith Rowe, Kevin Campbell, Martin Keown, Sebastian Larsson, Paul Merson, Tony Adams, Hector Bellerin, Folarin Balogun, Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Serge Gnabry, Joe Willock and of course the legend himself Nicklas Bendtner.
Hale End has rightly received a lot of praise recently for its coaching methods and ability to produce players for the first team. So who is next up for the Gunners? Here are our three picks for the high potential stars at Arsenal.
Omar Rekik (Centre Back)
Rekik arrived in North London from Hertha Berlin in January of this year and has been a regular for the U23’s this season. At just 19, he is already a fully capped player for the Tunisian national team despite playing part of his youth career for the Netherlands.
Charlie Patino (Centre Midfield)
Patino made quite a splash earlier this season when he scored a magnificent solo goal against Man Utd’s U23’s. He has since picked up an ankle injury that currently has him on the sidelines but his potential as a future star is unquestionable.
Salah Oulad M’Hand (Centre Midfield)
M’Hand arrived in the August of 2020 on a free transfer after being released by Feyenoord. He’s featured for the Netherlands U17’s and has 4 goals in 8 appearances in PL2 this season.