Football Manager 2011 is not just a game anymore, that’s a fact. Premier League club Everton is using the impressive game database as part of their scouting network since 2009 and, according to Miles Jacobson, there are quite a few other clubs that are doing the same. With these facts in mind I am starting a series of posts in which I will try to use Football Manager 2011 both as a real scouting tool and also as a window to the future. In today’s post I will be taking a look at Arsenal‘s top youngsters but not the obvious ones like Wilshere, Ramsey or even Vela. I wanted to see if there are any rising stars in Arsenal‘s reserves and youth teams, players that didn’t get too much first team football or not at all.
I decided to start this series of FM 2011 Futures posts with Arsenal for two reasons: firstly I am an Arsenal fan and secondly the club is well-known for its policy of investing in youngsters from all over the world. I tried to find eleven players, one for each role in Mr. Wenger’s 4-2-3-1 tactic, but unfortunately I only managed to find eight promising youngsters: we’re missing a right back, a right winger and one of the two centre backs. The method that I have used for scouting is quite simple: I started a new game on patch 11.3, took control of Chelsea and had one their best and most experienced scout, Piet de Visser, have a look at Arsenal‘s youth and reserves teams. Here’s what he has found:
Emiliano Martinez (goalkeeper)
This 17-year old goalie was bought by Arsenal in 2010 from Argentinian club Independiente for 500,000 pounds and he seems to have enough talent to become a good solution between the sticks in a few years. He is reasonably tall, has good reflexes but his mental attributes are below average overall. He is still very young though and the scout believes that he will become a good Premier League goalie in the future, not a great one but a good one.
Pedro Botelho (left back)
This talented left back was bought by Arsenal a while ago, back in 2007 from Brazilian club Figueirense. Arsenal paid 1.2 million pounds back then but the player didn’t manage to break into the first team by the age of 20. He is currently on loan at Spanish club Cartagena after spending a few other seasons as a loanee in Spain at Celta and Salamanca. He has pretty good technical skills, very good stamina and he also knows what to do when he doesn’t have the ball. He is quick and agile as well and I believe that he could be a reliable backup for Gael Clichy in a year or two.
Kyle Bartley (centre back)
Bartley began his career with Bolton Wanderers and signed for Arsenal in 2007. He has captained the reserves team and was part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2009. He is currently on loan at Glasgow Rangers after spending last season at Sheffield United. I think that this lad could have a bright future ahead of him because he is tall, strong and reasonably quick and he also seems to have good technique and mental attributes. He could become an in-house solution for the centre back role pretty soon, maybe even next season.
Francis Coquelin (defensive midfielder)
This lad is yet another result of Arsene Wenger‘s «French connection», he was bought in 2007 for 250,000 pounds from lower league French side Stade Lavallois and he is currently on loan at Ligue 1 club Lorient. This 19-year old has the potential to become a real star since he is hard-working, determined and very ambitious. He seems to be the pit-bull midfielder type, those midfielders that rarely let the ball or the opponent past them, and if he will manage to improve his technical skills he might become a world class midfielder.
Kyle Ebecilio (central midfielder)
This lad is only 16 years old, he comes from Holland and Arsenal paid 600,o00 pounds to Feyenoord for his transfer. It’s obvious that he’s a long way off being a first team footballer at this point but his very young age suggests that he has lots of room for improvement. He seems to have a natural talent with the ball, very good technique and also great natural fitness. This lad could be a sensation in three or four years, remember his name!
Ryo Miyaichi (left winger)
This Japanese youngster joined Arsenal in 2010 after playing in his homeland for Chukyo University. He is currently on loan at Feyenoord and he has already managed to score in the Dutch top flight at only 17 years of age. It’s quite obvious that he has great talent for the winger role: good dribbler, good pace but also great flair and that’s an attribute that would surely help him to please Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal fans. This youngster could well make the Arsenal first team next season but even if he won’t he will surely be a star of the future.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (attacking midfielder)
This youngster started his career at Arsenal in 2006 and he has spent the last three seasons on loan in the Championship at Blackpool, Doncaster and Cardiff. He is a versatile player and that might help him grab a spot in the first team soon, probably as a backup. This lad has excellent physical attributes and decent technique as well but he could make a big step forward if he would improve his creativity and work rate. I don’t think that he will be a star but he could become a reliable utility player in a year or two.
Wellington Silva (striker)
Silva is probably the best prospect of them all, a 17-year old Brazilian forward that cost Arsenal 3.5 million pounds. He was signed from Fluminense this season and he has what it takes to become a real star: great technique, excellent flair, reasonable speed and also good work rate. He is currently on loan at Spanish top flight club Levante and he has already made his debut in the Primera Liga. I believe that this little fella will become a sensation in the Premier League, it’s just a matter of time…
I have a video to back up my optimism regarding Wellington Silva, I invite you to view it below. The game was played in Brazil between Sao Bernardo and Fluminense and Silva‘s team was 2-0 down after just a few minutes. Then this youngster stepped up: he scored the first goal, created the second after a brilliant display of technique and then produced a penalty kick to give his team the win.
There are five other youngsters that could become good Premier League players in the future, you can view their names and details in the table below.
| Name | Nat | Height | Weight | Position | Age | Value |
| Craig Eastmond | ENG | 180 cm | 71 kg | D (R), DM, M (C) | 19 | £1.4M |
| Armand Traoré | FRA | 185 cm | 70 kg | D/WB/M/AM (L) | 20 | £3.5M |
| Henri Lansbury | ENG | 183 cm | 86 kg | M (RLC) | 19 | £3.1M |
| Chuks Aneke | ENG | 188 cm | 93 kg | M/AM (C) | 17 | £1.1M |
| Luke Freeman | ENG | 183 cm | 64 kg | AM (L), ST | 18 | £500 |
I think that Arsenal‘s future looks quite bright with these youngsters but I’m sure that Arsene Wenger will bring in a fresh batch next summer. Now we’ll only have to wait and see how many of these young lads will become established football players in the years to come, this blog will still be here and we’ll have the opportunity to look back and remember the early days of their careers. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and if you did feel free to suggest other clubs to investigate in the future posts, we’ll make a list and then I’ll start scouting them one by one to see if there are any more gems hiding in the reserves and youth teams.
Laxeyman
2 апреля, 2011 at 11:44
Looks like Arsenal have a lot of good young players, I particularly like the look of Coqeulin and Wellington, I’m sure they’ll develop into good players. Add to the list you’ve got there with Wilshere and Ramsey and Arsenal really do have the best young talent in the country.
If only Liverpool’s academy was as good…
Johnny Karp
2 апреля, 2011 at 12:00
Carlos Vela is a good talent as well but I’m afraid that he will want to leave soon if he doesn’t get more first team football. I think I’ll analyze Liverpool next, maybe there are some great youngsters in there after all.
CsAtlantis
2 апреля, 2011 at 13:20
Quite amazing, even without the likes of Vela, Ramsey, Wilshere and Gibbs Arsenal have close to full team of players who can be squad players or in some cases, first teamers
Johnny isn’t Luke Freeman worth 500k instead of 500 quid?
I think Henri Lansbury deserves his own profile picture in this article though, I think he is not that far behind Ramsey and Wilshere and probably has more potential than Jay Emmanuel Thomas
Johnny Karp
3 апреля, 2011 at 08:31
Yes, I think that Freeman is worth 500K. About Lansbury, you could be right there but I guess only time will tell. Evaluating a player’s potential is quite difficult and the scout believed that Emmanuel-Thomas might have a better future than Lansbury.
CsAtlantis
4 апреля, 2011 at 01:47
Johnny, wouldn’t it be easier if you just took over Arsenal in a new game and see what Pat Rice thinks of the players in the youth team? Maybe Emmanuel Thomas had a boost in the new patch as he didn’t seem that highly rated when I was managing Arsenal :D
Johnny Karp
4 апреля, 2011 at 07:24
It would have been easier but not as accurate, that’s why I chose to use one of the best scouts in the game.
Sears
2 апреля, 2011 at 13:21
Interesting post Johnny, very well written. I think trophies should be Mr.Wengers main worry now though.
Johnny Karp
3 апреля, 2011 at 08:31
Thanks Sears. Some silverware would be nice, I agree, but I’m sure that the glory days will come (return) sooner or later.
Darren Smith
2 апреля, 2011 at 13:32
Good post Johnny. Very interesting for the game but especially interesting for anyone who doesn’t play FM to see an insight of the better youth players. These lads won’t be well known to many so good stuff mate.
Johnny Karp
3 апреля, 2011 at 08:32
Thanks Darren, I hope to see some of these youngsters becoming household names in the future.
Ross
2 апреля, 2011 at 13:50
The best prospect for Arsenal is Benik Afobe from what I’ve seen he looks every bit a future England international also Frimpong is rated very highly I hear as is Miguel
Johnny Karp
3 апреля, 2011 at 08:33
Ross, I have explained how I made my evaluation. How did you make yours?
Ross
5 апреля, 2011 at 09:30
Afobe is out on loan at the moment but he was part of a England U17 Squad that won the U17 Euros and looked impressive throughout very accomplished finisher. Frimpong was looking likely to break in to the first team same time as Wilshere but a nasty injury has put him back a bit. Miguel started for the first team against Orient and go a verygood write up in the programme.
Omer
2 апреля, 2011 at 14:06
I rate Craig Eastmond, he is currently on loan at my beloved millwall FC. Hasn’t played much but from a personal view reminds me of Ramsey when on the ball.
And on a side note, Johnny your Vauxhall game save is the best blog I’ve ever read.
Johnny Karp
3 апреля, 2011 at 08:34
Thanks for the compliment Omer.
hils
2 апреля, 2011 at 18:57
Henri Lansbury is a good prospect in my opinion!!!!!!!!!!
the-dutch-fm-god
2 апреля, 2011 at 21:38
Good post, I’m a Feyenoord fan so I know Ryo very good, he is an amazing winger and in the Netherlands he’s already a hero. Feyenoord sees him as their best player and he is! He has a great cross, brilliant moves and knows how to make a goal. We’re very satisfied with him, and only 18 years old!
Johnny Karp
3 апреля, 2011 at 08:36
Thanks for your input, much appreciated. Do you hope that Arsenal will leave him on loan at Feyenoord next season as well or do you think that he might compete for a first team spot in the Premier League?
the-dutch-fm-god
3 апреля, 2011 at 23:35
I think another year in the Eredivisie will be good for his development, he’s not ready for the Premier League yet. But I’m sure that he will be a future Arsenal star if he develops enough!
Johnny Karp
4 апреля, 2011 at 07:23
Thanks for the info.
Arsene
3 апреля, 2011 at 09:41
How about Randall and Frimpong?
Only some of them could make it at the big stage, even fewer can make it in Arsenal… but I guess from Arsenal, many of these kids can at least be some squad players in the top leagues in Europe.
Thank you for the info.
Are you going to do reports for Man Utd and Liverpool? I also think Aston Villa got some promising kids, e.g. Ciaran Clark, B.Bannon, Albrighton, Hogg, Herd, Baker, etc. Worth checking out.
Johnny Karp
4 апреля, 2011 at 07:22
There will be more of these reports, surely. I will add Man Utd, Liverpool and Aston Villa to the list.
Daniel
19 апреля, 2011 at 10:14
OP, can you tell me what skin your using and where you got it from?
Regards
Martinm
12 июня, 2011 at 11:51
Good post Johnny, Bartley is a fantastic prospect. Played really well for Rangers last season even though it was only 8 or 9 games. He reads the game very well for being so young. I’d love to see him back at Ibrox next season.
Johnny Karp
12 июня, 2011 at 13:00
Thanks for your input Martin.
tom
20 июня, 2011 at 16:19
i am currently manager at arsenal on my 2nd season and managed to win all trophies, premier league, fa cup , carling cup, champions league and community shield and henri lansbury helped me with all of these. he is a regular player and scored 11 goals from 32 games. i was suprised when he wasnt in the top eight
Mariano
2 июля, 2011 at 22:24
Very nice post Johnny, I often think about how accurate he FM is according to youngsters, except a few mistakes like Mitea:)
But remember Robinho and Tevez in CM2003?
Cheers
Johnny Karp
3 июля, 2011 at 11:04
Mitea was a huge talent, unfortunately injuries and a not very professional mentality made him waste that potential. He will be playing again though, he just signed a contract with a newly-promoted team in the Romanian top flight :)
Luke
7 августа, 2011 at 19:51
Bartley was an absolute joke last season, he wouldn’t make the list if you’d seen him play! An absolute thug, not a scrap of ability.