The player who caught the eye in the two matches against Lyon and Wolfsburg at the Emirates Cup was Jeff Reine-Adelaide, a leggy 17 year old, who showed marvelously quick feet, strength, technical skills beyond his age, intelligent off the ball movement, and an astonishing passing range. He also showed he could defend tracking back with speed, tackling robustly, and breaking up passes with timely interceptions. Reine-Adelaide set up Walcott’s strike and almost got the striker a second goal.
In between he toyed with Kevin De Bruyne, the Bundesliga’s player of the year and then executed a series of dizzying step overs which made Sebastian Jung’s head spin. There was enough to suggest Reine-Adelaide also shows the requisite mental strength too.
He mostly played down the left flank but roved into the middle which is where he received Mikel Arteta’s pass to cut the Wolfsburg defence, skipping past a couple of defenders to find Walcott with a precisely guided pass for the goal. For the French U17, his preferred position is on the right wing.
Arsene Wenger loves the boy. He said: “Reine-Adelaide is something special you know. He is a great talent and when he came on you could see that – 17 years old let’s not forget that. In fact I don’t remember how I played at 17 but I didn’t play like that!” And this being Wenger, the price tag is important too. A meager $4.7m for Renee-Adelaide ($2.8m) and Yassin Fortune ($1.9m) signed from FC Lens in May after the French club was relegated to Ligue 2. It could turn out to be the best $3m paid in Arsenal history.
He’s already got Arsenal fans salivating. Will he come good? Especially in an Arsenal squad usually packed with talent in midfield. Wenger’s passion is developing talent but it’s not easy, look at the ups and downs Jack Wilshere has had with injuries and a propensity for trying too hard. There are hints he maybe turning the corner. There are others who showed initial promise but failed, David Bentley, Jermaine Pennant, Fran Merida, to name some. Gideon Zelalem was the next best thing but he seems to have faded into the background. We will have to wait it is hard not to get excited with the little we have seen so far. Jeff Reine-Adelaide will be one to track closely.