Sachin Nakrani
The Guardian, Thursday 25 September 2008

Carlos Vela

Striker, 19

It is hard to believe, considering he signed for Arsenal in January 2007, but Vela was making his first start for Arsenal on Tuesday night. Having arrived from Celta Vigo, the Mexican was sent back to Spain, only returning this summer when Arsène Wenger decided he was finally ready to make an impact.

That belief gained weight following the destruction of Sheffield United when the 19-year-old scored a sublime hat-trick and having also appeared in recent matches against Newcastle and Dynamo Kiev there is now a gathering belief that he, more than any of the new Arsenal crop, is ready to push for a place in the first-team. Wenger is certainly in no doubt of the contribution he could make. «Carlos has everything in his locker,» said the Frenchman.

«He has agility, a good first touch and is a clinical finisher. He is a top-class striker and will score many goals for us, I am sure.» Having scored four goals for his national team, the player himself believes he can contribute at the highest level. «I feel I am ready [to play regularly] and as long as I stay calm and consistent, I can do well for the first team,» said Vela.

«It was the reputation of Arsène Wenger that brought me to Arsenal in the first place because he is well-known for giving players a chance. He has given me a lot of advice already, mainly to keep working hard and take my opportunities when they come.»

Jack Wilshere

Midfielder, 16

At 16 years and 256 days, Wilshere became the youngest player to represent Arsenal in the league during the recent 4-0 win at Blackburn. Slight in frame and short in height, the Stevenage-born midfielder may lack presence but as his performance against Sheffield United on Tuesday showed, he does not lack influence.

Wilshere joined Arsenal at the age of nine in October 2001 and having collected 13 goals in 19 matches for the club’s under-18 side, scored on his debut for the reserves. A more than encouraging pre-season with the first-team has cemented Wilshere’s place at the front of Wenger’s mind and he is sure the teenager, who played wide on the right on Tuesday, will continue to progress. «I first integrated Wilshere into training with the first-team when he was 15 and he has never looked out of place,» said the Arsenal manager. «It is obvious that football is natural to him and he has the determination and focus to develop into a very good player.»

Wenger went onto describe Wilshere as a «quiet boy» who does not like attention but then immediately drew more towards the youngster by likening him to one of Arsenal’s greatest ever players. «People tell me he [Wilshere] is like Liam Brady because of his good balance and change of direction,» said Wenger. «I do not know of Liam well enough of as a player but there is no doubt Jack is talented. I feel for sure that he will eventually become a very good central midfield player for us.»

Gavin Hoyte

Defender, 18

If any member of the Arsenal team that swept past Sheffield United is not going to get carried away it is Gavin Hoyte. The 18-year-old is the young brother of Justin, another product of the Arsenal academy, but who like David Bentley and Jérémie Aliadière before him, ultimately fell short of Wenger’s particular standards and was sold to Middlesbrough this summer.

Hoyte, who played at centre-back on Tuesday, has also been at Arsenal since the age of nine and was named as a substitute in four of the side’s five Carling Cup fixtures last season, albeit without going on to make an appearance. He is also the club’s former reserves captain.

Fran Mérida

Winger, 18

Like Wilshere, Vela and Hoyte, Fran Mérida made his first start for Arsenal on Tuesday. The winger followed in the footsteps of Cesc Fábregas when he signed for Arsenal from Barcelona in September 2006. A member of the Spain Under-17 team that won the 2007 European Championship, he made his debut for Arsenal in the 2-0 Carling Cup second-round win against Newcastle last year. On the eve of this season, Wenger described Mérida as being «absolutely amazing».

Mark Randall

Midfielder, 18

One of the longest-serving members of the Arsenal academy, Randall made his debut for the first-team as far back as October 2006, in the 2-0 Carling Cup third-round victory over West Bromwich. He has made one Premier League appearance, as a substitute in the 1-0 win at Sunderland last season, and one Champions League appearance, in the recent victory at FC Twente. «I am really happy at Arsenal and I know I must keep working hard to get where I want to be, which is in the first-team» he said.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/sep/25/arsenal.premierleague