The loss of some of Arsenal’s young stars seems immentant in the January transfer window despite all the effort made from their youth program.
The problem for Arsenal at the moment is that youngsters like Fran Merida and Jack Wilshere cannot expect much of a chance in first grade games due to the fact Arsenal’s first team squad is well off for talented midfielders, has seen their movement into first grade limited to only meaningless Champions league or Carling cup games.
The problem facing Arsene Wenger is that players like Wilshere and Merida are now ready for a more prominent first team role at the club. With a number of stars all vying for a place in the midfield including Diarra, Diaby, Narsi, Rosicky, Fabregas, and players who can also play in the midfield if needed to like Arshavin, the midfield seems like a very unlikely place for young players to step up into the team.
The unfortunate thing at the moment, the first grade team is dying for strikers at the moment, if Wilshere or Merida had been strikers they would be straight into the first team, due to injuries to Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner who are Arsenals lead strikers.
It seems likely that Wilshere will be taking a loan move away from Arsenal in the near future. Turf Moor have shown interest in moving the youngster, but seeing as manager Owen Coyle is about to move to the Bolton Wanderers, it seems unlikely that the Clarets will take their interest any further while their managerial situation remains unresolved. A loan to another Premier League team is what Wilshere seems likely to do. Rumours today have surfaced that Wilshere is championing a loan move to the club he supported as a boy, West Ham, for the rest of the season. Arsene Wenger stated that Wilshere needs to play more first grade games for experience so the transfer seems likely to take place.
The situation surrounding Fran Merida is more complicated. Transferred from Barcelona to Arsenal as a youngster in a similar fashion to Cesc Fabregas, the youngster has drawn many comparisons with his Spanish counterpart. Arsenal’s first side however has been to hard for Fran Merida to crack despite his obvious talent, with his contract due to expire in June this year, and his unwillingness to resign with the club Fran Merida has decided that he will join the club he supported as a boy; Atletico Madrid, but unlike Wilshere, he will make his move permanently on July 1st 2010 so he will probly never been seen in the Arsenal away jersey again.
Although Arsenal’s midfield is hard to crack, It’ can’t feel good for Arsenal fans to see young players leave the club to make a name for themselves for another team, albeit temporarily in Wilshere’s case, simply because competition for places in the squad, in their position, is particularly strong.
