A year ago a central-defensive pairing of Sebastien Squillaci and Elton Monteiro would have sent a shiver down the spine of most Arsenal supporters. At Upton Park on Friday night, however, the oft-criticised duo performed admirably, making several important blocks and tackles between them as the U21s held on for a commendable point in East London.
Squillaci’s Arsenal career will come to an end when his contract expires in June, but Monteiro, such has been his progression in the past 12 months, is likely to be granted an extended stay, which could incorporate his first loan spell next campaign. Considering the extremely difficult start he endured upon moving to North London, it is somewhat remarkable that the 19 year old has reached the point where he has been called up to the Arsenal first-team squad for a Champions League fixture and been capped at U19 level by Portugal, having previously represented Switzerland.
During his first full season at the club, in 2010/11, Monteiro looked hopelessly out of his depth at all levels, making mistakes galore as the U18s struggled for consistency, whilst also experiencing a harrowing debut at second-string level as a young Gunners side were annihilated 10-1 by Aston Villa. At this stage, any hopes of the centre-back carving out a long-term career at Emirates Stadium appeared to be non-existent, given the frequency with which he squandered possession, his penchant for costly errors which often led to goals conceded and his woeful sense of positioning.
Since then, however, Monteiro has quietly been working his way along the road to redemption, and has now established himself as a key figure in Steve Gatting’s U21 side, as well as in the NextGen Series this season, in which he turned in a highly-commendable performance against Inter Milan in the Last 16. Monteiro now appears far more confident on the ball, tracks his runners more adroitly and has also learned to position himself better when the opposition attack, all of which has seen his stock rise considerably this campaign.
He still remains very much a work in progress, and the tendency to commit costly errors is still there, but, in terms of his overall performances, Monteiro has matured so much from the slight 16 year old plucked from FC Sion almost four years ago. Arsene Wenger called him up to the senior squad for the Champions League group stage fixture with Olympiacos and, although it is still difficult to envisage the youngster succeeding at the club in the long term, he has to be commended for the upturn in his performances of late.
Good to hear! He’s impressed me in the Next Gen and U21 games I watched. Hope he continues to have a strong season and continues to progress.
hajrovic monteiro angha miquel boateng
all centre backs all 19/20 and all fairly uninspiring.
JB – who do u think has the best arsenal future?
I think Miquel has the best chance out of all of them seeing as he’s played several times for the first-team already, but he certainly needs a loan spell first.
You’re not going to find many inspiring centre-backs at 19 or 20 years of age, it’s a position more reliant on experience than any other.
really?
well tony adams and martin keown were both inspiring at young ages so was sol campbell if your good enough u are old enough
You’re talking about the 80s and 90s, football is a bit different now. And your examples are hardly the best. Adams was thought of as a donkey by plenty of Arsenal fans in his early years and Keown didn’t become a top defender until his late 20s. Arsenal sold him, he got relegated, he wasn’t always a regular when he came back to us. That’s not inspiring. Sol was a regular from a young age for Spurs, a mid-table side.
You aren’t going to find a 20 year old centre back who is good enough to start for Arsenal in this day and age, other than young Varane from Real.
We were a midtable side when Rodder’s came through and we could afford the mistakes that young players make. Unlike now.
so your telling me that u would choose any of those 5 over a 19/20 year old adams keown and campbell.
sure football was a bit different back then but caulker, jones, craig dawson, smalling tomkins are playing in todays game and i would say all are streets ahead of our 5.
im not saying that all of them are crap but when u have a player like hayden coming through who is obviously a better player now than all 5 it is hard to see a future for those 5.
i am sure i read somewhere that boateng and hajrovic are out of contract in june and thus far have not been offered new ones. miquel is probably the pick of the 5 but is in dire need of a loan and possibly angha and monteiro will have to stay next season so that the u21s have an axis.
as a coach i fully apprreciate the demands on a centre back at the top level. at this moment in time i dont see any of the 5 having a career at arsenal long term. i hope im wrong for the good of the club.
I’m not saying they’re brilliant, just that it’s too early as 19/20 year old defenders to rule them out completely. There are a number of centre backs, like the ones you’ve mentioned, who have been able to compete at PL level from a young age because they are physically very mature. I think Miquel and Angha are very talented players but still have to gain more strength before we can properly judge what their true potential is. I don’t think the other three have a future at Arsenal, although Monteiro isn’t as bad as he was made out to be. I’m still positive on Angha’s and Miquel’s chances.
I think this article is worth reading just from the first sentence ‘A year ago a central-defensive pairing of Sebastien Squillaci and Elton Monteiro would have sent a shiver down the spine of most Arsenal supporters’ alone LMAO
Welldone boy keep fit & keep it up
Does he have the raw physical / technical attributes? (i.e. height, pace, strength and ability on the ball). If his faults are purely tactical then they can be coached into him. Haven’t seen him play personally so can’t really comment.
video of havard nordtveit…probably the only player i’ve regretted letting go too soon. Wish him all the best either way.
and a hector bellerin video against inter
Good lord! Thanks for posting the clip from the NextGen Inter game. I read Jeorge’s article when the team advanced but didn’t realize just how terrible the conditions were. The boys deserve even more credit coming through the game and advancing. I’m amazed they were able to complete a single pass with all that standing water.
Shocked that Iggy never went on loan this season. Has been a disaster for him, imo, and along with injuries, his form has been very questionable. Out of our young central defenders Martin Angha is the most promising imo. We should be looking to get Angha and Miquel out on season long loans in the summe , probably best abroad, tbh. Hajrovic and Boateng are lost causes who should be released in the summer. Cannot see Monteiro having long term future anywhere above League 1 but we may as well give him another season as there has been good improvement.
ps, on Nordtveit I agree. But I would also put Oguzhan Ozyakup in there with players I regret seeing go. Rumours of him getting a move already on the back of a strong first season at Besiktas. (Pedro Botelho is another I have some grievances with seeing go, but lets see how he gets on back in Brazil)
Isaac Hayden is the best prospect out of all the defenders. Angha rarely plays at CB now, converted to a fullback.
Typically our youngsters are used in a variety of positions to aid development. Likewise Isaac Hayden is used more often in midfield than CB. I see Haydens future in midfield, tbh. Has enough about him to have a successful career there.
Was average? He was the standout in the reserves last season, and this season he has been quality at Besiktas, already a regular in their first team and has a few big teams looking at him.
I never thought he was amazing either. Turkish league is not the best. A few big clubs? Lets see what he can do and then say he is a player for us. Lukaku was chased by a few big clubs… he is now in westbrom… Zaha is also bought from United.. I don’t think is is all that good.