The season is over, so for a bit of fun this week, I’m handing out my Arsenal academy awards for the campaign. For most categories I’ll be giving separate awards for the u18s and the u23s, and where appropriate I’ll also include the academy graduates in the first team. Let’s kick things off with the Academy Players of the Season.
Arsenal Academy Players of the Season
First-Team – Bukayo Saka
No one can deny the impact Emile Smith Rowe had on the Arsenal team after his introduction on Boxing Day, but I think it’s fair to say Bukayo Saka deserves this one. Through the good times and the bad, Saka was one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers, whether we’re talking about academy graduates or not.
With another 14 goals and assists to add to his growing senior tally, Saka was up there with the biggest contributors on the scoresheet despite playing a whole host of different roles. Whether at left-back, left-central-midfield, right-wing-back, even number 10, he never looked lost.
The teenager has earned his call-up to Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for the Euros, but hopefully, he can also get some rest this summer after an incredibly busy campaign.
U23s – Folarin Balogun
Folarin Balogun will surely be the next to properly step up to the Arsenal first team, and in a poor season for the u23s, he was often one of few to push the team on to results.
Taking on the captain’s armband from mid-October onwards, Balogun scored 10 goals and assisted a further three for the academy in 20 appearances. That’s before we even mention the two goals and one assist he managed in less than 90 minutes of senior football. Overall, he provided a goal contribution every 113 minutes.
Balogun had to contend with a lot this season, from the distraction of his contract to a wildly inconsistent u23 lineup, to a couple of knocks, a harsh red card, and being pulled out of academy matches for first-team training. In those circumstances, he deserves credit for what he did achieve.
Miguel Azeez is a close second here, having also made his first-team debut amid strong performances in his first full season with the u23s. A month-long injury in January and a couple of individual errors towards the end of the campaign were the only things to take the shine off an otherwise excellent year of progress.
U18s – Omari Hutchinson
Omari Hutchinson had a fantastic season with the u18s, and one that surpassed even the already high expectations for him.
Rather like Saka, Hutchinson has been used all over the pitch this season, but he eventually settled on the right-wing. He scored nine goals and assisted a further nine in his 23 u18 appearances, which earned him an u23 debut from the bench in late April. Unfortunately, he then suffered an injury keeping him out for the final few games of the season.
The 17-year-old was one of the driving forces of Arsenal’s FA Youth Cup run, which was no more evident than when they exited the competition in the only game he missed. He scored twice and hit the woodwork three times in the previous round-of-16 match against West Ham.
Hutchinson has had such a fantastic season that even though he’s technically eligible for the u18s again next year, there’s no way I could justify not promoting him to the u23s permanently. He’s fast, skilful, agile, creative, and a strong finisher, and he looks like one of the academy’s top talents right now.
Kido Taylor-Hart deserves a special mention for a similarly strong academy campaign. A year older than Hutchinson, he split his time between the u18s and the u23s, which made it difficult to pick him in either category, but his 11 goals and five assists made him a strong contender.
Loanee – Daniel Ballard
Daniel Ballard is the only Arsenal academy loanee whose season is still ongoing, as he’ll play in the League One play-off final on Sunday. That’s a sign of how the campaign has gone for the centre-back, who has now helped his team keep 15 clean sheets in 29 games. He also has two goals, and he provided an excellent assist in the play-off semi-final.
The Blackpool fans love him, and he may well consider returning there for another loan next season if they can achieve promotion to the Championship. But the defender’s form has been so encouraging that he might even get a chance with Arsenal in pre-season.
In addition to his League One performances, Ballard has made seven senior international appearances for Northern Ireland this season, most recently helping them to keep a clean sheet against Bulgaria in March. He’s one of the true success stories of Arsenal’s loan contingent in 2020/21.
Academy Wins of the Season
U23s – 6-0 vs Blackburn Rovers (A)
This win was both Arsenal’s biggest in terms of the scoreline and also possibly one of the most important. Steve Bould’s side had started the season badly, failing to win a single one of their first seven league games, and they really needed some inspiration to get the campaign going.
From nowhere, they pulled out a totally dominant display to thrash Blackburn Rovers. Folarin Balogun opened the scoring in the first half, before Catalin Cirjan, an Emile Smith Rowe brace, a Dan Pike own goal, and an injury-time Nikolaj Moller goal multiplied the score by six in the second 45.
It was no real surprise that the team looked so much better with Smith Rowe involved, but the confidence boost was so important for them. They went on to win five league games in a row, a run of points that undoubtedly kept them in the division when form dipped again in February.
Blackburn weren’t an easy opponent, either. They finished 4th in the PL2 table and the 6-0 defeat was one of just three matches they lost in their first 19 games of the season.
It was a rare day when everything came together for the u23s. You can watch the highlights here.
U18s – 4-1 vs Tottenham Hotspur (H)
A 4-1 win against Spurs shouldn’t need much justification, but this was another game that meant more in context. It was the first game of 2021, and followed an away defeat to their North London rivals earlier in the campaign, as well as an u17 loss shortly before this game that involved many of the same players.
Not only that, but they sat six points behind Spurs going into the game. The u18s were hurt and looking for revenge, and they found it with a sparkling display.
Zane Monlouis opened the scoring with a relatively scrappy goal from close range, before Roshaun Mathurin levelled in the 40th minute. But Hutchinson restored the lead just before the break with one of the goals of the season, cutting behind a defender with a chop, touching the ball away from another before curling into the far corner.
Taylor-Hart almost matched that goal four minutes after half-time, with another curling effort. Mazeed Ogungbo made it four in injury time with another goal from an acute angle.
It wasn’t Arsenal’s biggest win, as they beat Aston Villa 5-2 in very convincing fashion and thrashed Reading 6-1 – with both teams agreeing to play younger sides. But it was an excellent derby-day victory that proved crucial later on, as Arsenal finished three points above their rivals. You can watch the highlights here.
Academy Signings of the Season
U23s – Nikolaj Moller
Joining from Malmo in the summer, Nikolaj Moller made himself a regular starter with the u23s in his debut campaign. He started the season very well, and ended it just as strongly with three goal contributions in his final three games to fight off relegation.
The striker did experience a bit of a mid-season dip, and he’ll hope to be more clinical with his finishing next season, but it was a solid start for the 18-year-old, who provided 10 goal contributions in 18 u23 games. His all-around game is strong and if he can learn to use his physical presence to its fullest he could make a very effective centre-forward.
I’m not going to pretend there was a huge amount of competition in this category. I’ve already reviewed the u23 signings here, and many of them are yet to really get going. Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand made a strong start and looks a good signing, but he was ruled out for the season through injury early on. But Moller was the best of those who played the majority of the campaign.
U18s – Joel Ideho
Joel Ideho took a while to get going after his summer move from Ajax, but he ended the campaign in excellent form. The winger wrapped up the season with five goals and four assists in 1,074 minutes, one every 119 minutes.
The 17-year-old looked particularly at home in the final games of the campaign alongside centre-forward signing Amani Richards, who would easily have been a contender for the u18 signing of the season himself if he’d joined a little earlier than March.
16-year-old Richards scored in all three of his u18 starts and even made his u23 debut at the start of this month. But Ideho made his impact over a slightly longer period, so I’m giving him my vote.
Academy Goals of the Season
First-Team – Bukayo Saka vs West Brom
Does it make any sense to have a first-team academy goal of the season? Probably not, but I don’t care. Saka’s goal against West Brom was a beauty to behold, with the youngster linking up with Smith Rowe, Hector Bellerin, and Alexandre Lacazette to great effect. Okay, so Lacazette’s not an Arsenal academy player, but the other three are.
Bellerin picked up the ball in midfield, laid it off inside to Smith Rowe, who played a smart pass around the corner to Saka. Saka touched it to Lacazette, who played a first-time pass out to Smith Rowe, continuing his run. After an expert touch to control the ball into his path, Smith Rowe squared for Saka to tap into an empty net.
You can (and should) watch it again here from 1:15.
U23s – Folarin Balogun vs Brighton
No surprise that the u23s’ top scorer also scored their best goal. Picking up the ball in midfield, Balogun drew in two Brighton players before skipping past both of them. He shaped to pass before dribbling past another, playing a quick one-two with Azeez and curling a first-time finish into the far corner.
Balogun and Azeez were unstoppable on the day, and this was the pick of the five goals Arsenal put past Brighton. You can watch it here.
U18s – Miguel Azeez vs Chelsea
In my opinion, this was a much more competitive category than the u23s.
There was Azeez’s screamer against Blackburn, Taylor-Hart and Hutchinson’s goals vs Spurs (mentioned earlier), Patino’s long-range effort against Rotherham, and another Hutchinson goal against Brighton where he picked the ball up in his own half and beat a few defenders before slotting home.
But the winner has to be the goal Azeez scored on the final day against Chelsea. The teenage midfielder received the ball just outside the centre circle, carrying the ball past four attempted tackles before powerfully firing home with his weak foot. There may even have been a nutmeg in there for good measure. You can watch it here.
Loan – James Olayinka vs Boreham Wood
To conclude the awards, we have Arsenal’s best loan goal from an academy player. Midfielder James Olayinka isn’t the most regular goalscorer, managing three goals in his 21 games on loan this season, but they were three impressive efforts.
The best of the lot was his FA Cup goal against Boreham Wood, back in the familiar setting of Meadow Park (where the Arsenal u23s play their home games). From well inside his own half, Olayinka made an interception before racing up the field, cutting away from two defenders and firing into the corner from the edge of the box. You can watch it here.