FM 2011 Futures — Arsenal’s Rising Stars

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.

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.