Watching Arsenal beat Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium is not only a great opportunity to see some of the best youngsters in the country, but also a brilliant way to gauge which youngsters are popular and well known by the Arsenal fans who may be less knowledgeable about the Youth and Reserve Team.
Inevitably, a lot of the talk before the game centered around the senior players; Nasri, Eduardo and Bendtner returning from their respective injuries. However, several fans outside the ground expressed their desire to see the likes of Merida, Watt and Coquelin once again, as well as the obvious disappointment that Jack Wilshere was missing out.
As the teams were being read out it was interesting, if slightly inevitable, that the majority of the crowd had not heard of Craig Eastmond, but seemed genuinely excited by the presence of Merida and Ramsey on the pitch.
For the starting period the crowd switched between joy, at seeing the free flowing way the team were playing, and despair, at the slightly hazardous defensive play. This influenced the way the two younger members of the team were viewed, with some nerves being expressed about Eastmond, while Merida was seen to be “going somewhere”.
And somewhere was where he went! His fantastic goal was greeted by exultation, and the crowd seemed distinctly pleased for the young Spaniard. Despite Liverpool’s goal, there was never any tangible feeling that the team could do with more experience and Bendtner’s, eventual, winner restored a party atmosphere.
The real clue, however, as to which players are rated highest in the collective mind of the Emirates came in the 75th minute when a double substitution was made and 87th minute when the third substitution was made. These exchanges saw 2 youngguns leave the pitch, with 3 more taking their place. First off was Eastmond, who received a well deserved standing ovation, he certainly impressed a crowd who largely hadn’t even heard of him 2 hours earlier. Another youngster who seems to have a big following is Sanchez Watt, whose performance in the last round earned him a rousing cheer when he came on, on top of teh one he received when his name was announced at the beginning of proceedings. Mark Randall was also well received, but all of these were topped by the ovation Fran Merida was given when he left the field of play. The young Spaniard earned himself yet more fans on top of the plaudits his performance and goal got him this game. Finally, impressive Frenchman Coquelin was greeted warmly by a crowd obviously aware of his talents.
From the reactions of the Emirates faithful on Wednesday night it seems obvious that the majority Arsenal fans are confident in the knowledge that we have some very special young players coming through the ranks, and are very pleased about it!
Article by G.Sonvico
