The entire motive of big clubs having pre-season tours in countries which have not been previously visited is to primarily strengthen the ties with the club’s fans from remote parts of the world, along with giving the first-team players some decent warm-up practice ahead of the start of the league. It is also a great platform for the managers to give the club’s squad and youth players a chance to impress, and to perhaps push themselves into the manager’s plans at some point of the upcoming season.
ESPN reports that 16-year old Gedion Zelelam has certainly grabbed this opportunity with both hands. He was thrown into the midst right from Arsenal’s first pre-season game. The teenager has not been fazed by the big stage and has wowed the world with his quality. He has been playing like a mature world class play maker – making dangerous runs, having the vision of identifying difficult passes and successfully executing the same. His ability to split open the defense with a single pass, that too at such a tender age is something which has caught the attention of many.
He has been given the freedom by manager Arsene Wenger in midfield and he has not disappointed. His inch perfect passes and assists in the recent games have been applauded by the fans, who are hugely excited by this young prospect. So much so, that fans and pundits from across the world are already likening him to the 16-year old Cesc Fabregas who made his debut for Arsenal all those years ago.
They see shades of Fabregas in Zelalem and are hugely convinced that the young German will grow into one of the best play makers in the world. The probability of that happening is also high, given the fact that he is at perhaps one of the best youth academy setups in the world. Arsenal are known to mould young raw talent into polished world class players, and seeing Zelalem break into the first-team in the coming years is very well within the realms of possibilities.
One thing is certain – we will be seeing more of him in the coming matches and in the coming years.