Arsenal’s head of development Marcel Lucassen spoke to Transfermarkt about the importance of youth in top clubs.
Lucassen, previously of Al-Nasr and Hoffenheim, joined Arsenal last season and has been heavily involved with the development of youngsters. Unai Emery has given the likes of Joe Willock and Bukayo Saka among others a chance in the first team. That move has certainly been paying off and the Gunners boss deserves a ton of credit for it.
Arsenal’s youngsters have been making huge strides recently and the youth setup looks as strong as it has ever been. Lucassen speaks about the importance of these youngsters and how they can save a club millions in the transfer market.
He said: “Why are clubs on a world-class level only for a period? Because there will be a rebuilding phase after time, new players from other clubs come in and these players need time to settle in.”
“If I take youth players instead of expensive new signings, they maybe make one or two mistakes more, but they have the advantage of non-verbal communication. Because they played together in the youth setup for years, they know how the other works and especially about the patters of movements. In the end, the rebuilding phase is significantly shorter,” he concluded.
Arsenal aren’t making the mistake that Manchester United made
Manchester United are a prime example when it comes to a long rebuilding phase. Sir Alex Ferguson left the club when most players were into their 30’s and that has hampered the club’s development over the last few years.
United now have a good bunch of youngsters coming through who will surely benefit the club in the coming years.
Arsenal have definitely saved a ton of money thanks to their younger players. Small budget investments in other young players like Matteo Guendouzi and Gabriel Martinelli are also proving to be incredible and these players, should they decide to move on, will give Arsenal a massive return on their investment.
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