In his latest column, The Secret Footballer has praised Arsenal and Arsène Wenger for the work of the academy and patience that manager has had with young players.

A desperation for instant success has seen Manchester City and Manchester United spend hundreds of millions once again this summer, despite both boasting impressive youth systems.

A lot of money has gone into the Manchester City academy while United have always prided themselves on developing stars from within, but both clubs have gone the fast route this year after failing to win anything last season.

“The one academy that is a constant, where young players really do have a chance of making it with their parent club or at another Premier League or top European club, is Arsenal,” said The Secret Footballer.

Of the current squad, Héctor Bellerín, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Mathieu Flamini and Francis Coquelin were all in the Arsenal academy at one stage or another. Danny Welbeck is now an Arsenal player having broken through at Manchester United before being ditched for more popular stars Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao. That went well.

Again this summer, while those two clubs splurged on Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne and Anthony Martial among others, Arsenal signed Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Yassin Fortune and Vlad Dragomir.

Arsenal are backing themselves to get the most out of these players, who would turn out to be absolute bargains if they develop as is hoped.

“Their academy is superb because the players are all trained to play the game in the right way, the Arsenal way, from day one to the day they leave. Because of that, they all have a chance of making it somewhere.

“When kids step into the Arsenal team, they know that Wenger trusts them because he knows that they have been trained in the same way as the player they are replacing.

“Now that is a dynasty. That is the closest that any club has got to incorporating young academy players in a top side.”

The problem is the media pile incredible pressure on managers and clubs, suddenly fans want instant success and aren’t prepared to see players grow into their roles.

As TSF says, Wenger has tried this route and his reputation has suffered.

“What has it got Wenger? Abuse from all quarters.

“The other clubs can put as much money into their academies as they like.

“It does not guarantee success unless you have a game plan at the outset, like Wenger, and, even then, success may be modest in comparison to the expectations of fans.”

Arsenal are spending a lot of time and money on the academy right now, hoping to produce more top quality players rather than having to import them from abroad. The strain on the scouting department would be lessened, we wouldn’t have to pay fees and the fans would get truly home grown players to shout for.

It’s tough but Arsenal are trying. The same can be said of other English clubs but, even then, does anyone have a true identity, a style of play, like Arsenal do? Across Europe, for sure. But not in England.