5 Arsenal youth academy players who should play for the first team

#2 Gedion Zelalem

Zelalem is currently on loan at Dutch side, VVV-Venlo

The 20-year-old midfielder was first spotted by an Arsenal scout as a youngster playing for a club in America before he made his first few appearances in an Arsenal shirt for the Under-21s while he was still at school. Zelalem is a massive talent and has the ability to become a classy midfielder for Arsenal and will fit perfectly with the Gunners’ style of play.

He’s great on the ball, can control from midfield similar to the way Santi Carzola has done over the last four years or so. But his loan spell last season at Rangers brought about comparisons to another Arsenal playmaker, Mesut Ozil. One minute everyone was raving about the American and how wonderful he was, the next he was accused of being uninterested and lazy, among other things. But when it comes off, it is a thing of beauty.

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The midfielder outsmarts a player rather than outmuscles them, and it worked, as he registered eight assists in all competitions. Arsenal has always known the youngster’s strengths, he sees things that no one else sees and knows where to put the ball and how to make things just happen.

Although he was supposed to be given a shot with the first team, the sheer depth of the Arsenal squad was just too much for him to push for a first-team role and Wenger sent him off on loan VVV-Venlo, with a promise that he will get opportunities next term.