Over the years Arsenal have deservedly built up a reputation for not being defensively sound. Whilst things have improved on that front this season, Vermaelen’s double slip-up against QPR on Saturday showed that there’s still work to be done. Whilst it’s clear that Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are quality defenders, the way the Gunners are set-up often leaves them woefully exposed in the way that Manchester United or Manchester City defenders never are.
As things stands there’s plenty of work to be done. With that in mind I wanted to have a look at some of the young defenders plying their trade for the Gunners and consider whether they have a real shot of making it in the Premier League. Predominantly I want to look at the man who led Arsenal’s young stars to the FA Youth Cup victory in 2009: Kyle Bartley.
Following this fantastic start to his Arsenal career, his star has waned somewhat, but his potential is there for everybody to see. Whilst he’s never featured for the Gunners in the Premier League, Wenger clearly rates him enough to keep seeking out decent loan moves for him.
Back in the 2010/11 season he was shipped out to Sheffield United. He featured regularly until the Blades signed Neill Collins. Fearing a lack of game time he opted to leave and secured a loan move to Rangers. Whilst some may see this as a lack of confidence in his own ability, to me this was a sensible decision. He clearly has his head screwed on and wants to play the regular football that will help him to develop his game.
Unfortunately he only played five games before sustaining a knee ligament injury which kept him out of the action for the remainder of the season. He’s now 20-years-old and questions may start to be raised over whether he has the potential to fit in at Arsenal. Bartley himself wont be content to keep going out on loan. If Arsenal can’t offer him game time he may decide to stay in the Scottish Premier League or move to Premier League side lower down the table.
From what I’ve seen, he’s capable of covering plenty of ground, he’s agile and he’s happy to put in challenges. On the flip side questions remain over his positional sense and his short-temper. Whilst he impresses sporadically, I think it’s fair to say that his development hasn’t gone at the pace many people were expecting. At the moment it’s difficult to call what kind of player he’ll end up being.
He’s still young so I assume that Arsenal will want to keep hold of him and see if he does improve. With players like Ignasi Miquel making inroads with the first team, it’s becoming increasingly hard to see where he’ll fit in. Next season may well be make or break for him and his Arsenal career.
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