Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
I doubt it. There's definitely a deliberate policy to keep Under 18 team players at that level this season, whereas this time last season Spence, and a few others in the Academy side, were appearing for the Development team quite regularly. Maybe if our season tails off and we have a few meaningless games come April and May like we did last year we may see someone like Spence given a game, but I'd be very surprised if any of our youngsters made a first team debut if we're still challenging for a top six finish.
Guess it makes sense, especially given the expected return of midfielders Gunners and Bryson soon. Not sure I agree with holding back prospects from the Academy Team into the Development squad though. To my mind it would do them good to see how they cope, especially with the increased physicality the opposition would provide.