With eight games to play, Arsenal really don’t have much to aim for in the Premier League, so it’s a great opportunity to give young players opportunities and experience.
Arsenal are currently 13 points off the top four, with only 24 points left to play for. Given their progression to the Europa League quarter-final, it makes much more sense to save key players for the competition, since that’s clearly the only realistic way they can qualify for the Champions League next season.
At the same time, it gives Arsene Wenger a chance to experiment in those last eight domestic matches. He can try out new systems, partnerships and players to prepare for next season. If any work particularly well he can also use them in Europe.
So which Arsenal academy stars have earned a chance in the first team?
2Matt Macey
- Age: 23
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Senior game-time 2017/18: 210 minutes
- Senior clean sheets: 1
Macey appeared for the first-team twice back in late October/early November. First he helped Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Norwich City, then he kept a clean sheet against Red Star Belgrade.
Unfortunately, David Ospina or Petr Čech have played every single game since then, including in the FA Cup and League Cup. That’s obviously the side effect of having two goalkeepers who both believe they should be first choice.
Neither Ospina nor Čech have really nailed down the position though. They’ve both frequently made mistakes, although in the last few weeks they’ve shown some improvement.
Either way, the Premier League doesn’t matter much anymore, why not give Macey some game time?
He’s stepped up to the task on every occasion so far, and the only way to know if he’s ready for more responsibility is to give him some. I expect Arsenal will sign a new goalkeeper this summer, so there may not be many more chances next season.
Premier League 2 stats 2017/18
- Appearances: 6
- Clean sheets: 3
- Goals conceded: 9