One Down, Three to Go

So the youth team is finally out of the Carling Cup. That's one chance for silverware gone, and three to go. Of course there will undoubtedly be those gooners out there who will bemoan the fact that we let such a winnable competition slip through our fingers, but those same people were probably saying before the match that win our lose, it was just fun to the Carling Cup squad play.

I felt, and still feel, the same way. The Carling Cup is nothing more than a fun diversion. Only in England does a fourth competition like this exist, which leads many of the big clubs to write it off and not really worry about winning it. I don't believe we ever really write off this competition, but we also don't waste our first team on it.

I really like Arsene Wenger's youth policy in this tournament. I think that it's a great way to let our young players feel what it's really like to play in a a major cup competition in from of real crowds and against real, challenging opponents. And year after year we are treated to some real joys of matches.

The young players aren't afraid to try the cheeky skill move. They don't know that it's sometimes silly and unnecessary. And yes, it sometimes gets them into trouble, but it's a joy to watch the innocence of youth out there on the field. These players are hungry for wins, fearless, always willing to try something, anything to get them a goal, and they are determined.

Unfortunately that determination and exuberance isn't always enough. And so it proved at the Turf Moor last night. The kids were up against determined opponents, a fiercely loyal crowd, and a freezing night. And they came unstuck. It was bound to happen eventually, and it wasn't as if we didn't play well, we just weren't clinical enough. And it cost us. But the good thing about it is the players involved have now learned something, learned a valuable lesson in just what it's like to play against this type of opponent.

In this Carling Cup campaign we saw spark, imagination, brand new players emerge and shine. We saw determination, we saw the learning process of these players first hand, and best of all we saw the future of the Arsenal Football Club. These players who scored nine goals and conceded only two in three matches are our future, and on the evidence of this year's cup run, we have a wonderful future ahead of us.

Now we turn it over to the first team for the remainder of the season. They could learn some lessons from the kids, most notably a determination and must-win attitude. Here's hoping they can apply those lessons and we can get something from those other three competitions.

Fab 4