Add as preferred source on Google

Martin Keown has claimed it would be unfair for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to throw a load of youngsters into his team given the current situation.

The Gunners are having a torrid season, with the North London club sat 15th in the Premier League table over Christmas.

After upcoming games against Chelsea and Brighton in the next few days, they could even find themselves in the relegation zone going into the New Year depending on results elsewhere.

Arsenal’s exit from the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night compiled even more pressure on the team right now, who domestically have been a shambles and a shadow of the team they’ve been in the Europa League.

Ex-Gunners defender Keown has responded to claims that Arteta should name a host of youngsters in his team selection, warning that it would be the wrong thing to do in this situation.

He’s singled out 20-year-old Emile Smith Rowe as an emerging talent that should perhaps not be thrown into the limelight.

But the attacking midfielder has contributed whenever he’s played in Europe and the fact he’s had zero Premier League minutes this season is bizarre given the lack of creativity in the team.

“People are calling for Smith-Rowe and all these youngsters. You can’t just throw them into this situation,” Keown told talkSPORT.

TBR’s View:

In an ideal scenario Arsenal should be leaning on their senior players to dig them out of their current hole, but the problem is there is just a serious lack of quality or leadership within the squad.

There has been a core group of players that have consistently underachieved for a few years now at the Emirates Stadium and over time there needs to be major changes to the group.

An injection of fresh blood like Smith-Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Folarin Balogun could be the type of decision to wake up some of the more senior figures.