Talk:Arsenal F.C. Under-21s and Academy

Improvement
I have expanded & improved this article to a vaguely acceptable standard, although this is not an endorsement of its existence; if I had my way it would be deleted, but the lack of consensus on previous AfDs means I don't think it would be carried through. Qwghlm 12:17, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Academy I noticed that the squad included some academy players. Should there be a squad list for the Academy? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.195.135.75 (talk) 20:37, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Bischoff
Wenger wouldn't sign a 21 year old to play in the reserves unless he was a goalkeeper Bischoff is a first team player. --JaysonG (talk) 09:51, 1 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Bischoff's putative signing has not been confirmed, so this is not relevant right now. Qwghlm (talk) 20:07, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

2008 departures
Does anyone know who got released at the end of 2007/08? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Barry III (talk • contribs) 15:33, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * None so far, though I'm keeping an eye out. Qwghlm (talk) 20:07, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Merge proposal
I propose that Arsenal F.C. Academy be merged into Arsenal F.C. Reserves, with the article also ideally renamed to Arsenal F.C. Under-23s and Academy or similar to reflect both aspects of its content.

The Under-23 (formerly Reserve) side is one team within the academy setup below the first team. The fact that there are so many U-18 players on the U-23 squad list shows their close level of integration.

Both articles are also fairly weak in terms of external sources and a combined article would provide a stronger basis for demonstrating their notability for being retained in the encyclopedia. Recent discussions at WP:FOOTY have indicated that reserve and/or youth team articles which are unconvincing in terms of notability or verifiability may be considered for deletion - see here (or here if archived). I don't support any blanket removal of youth/reserve articles but I think one to cover the whole system for each club would show a more credible argument for being kept.

Merging the articles would also follow the more common model used in respect of English clubs - current exceptions being Reading (1) / (2), Charlton (1) / (2), West Ham (1) / (2) / 3), Spurs (1) / (2) and Southampton (1) (2) which will also have this merge suggestion applied. It would probably make it easier for interested editors to keep the current information updated if they are monitoring the same article rather than there being two articles containing overlapping information (WP:OVERLAP) being maintained separately.

PS I nominated one article to 'remain' and one to 'go' purely on the basis of which had existed longer. My intention was not to offend any editors by suggesting the article they created/maintain should be deleted due to being inferior to any other, just that I don't think any more than one article on this topic is necessary.Crowsus (talk) 13:08, 25 February 2017 (UTC)


 * I have also created a discussion on WP:FOOTY regarding these mergers here if anyone wants to make general points, counter-arguments etc. Thanks.Crowsus (talk) 13:48, 25 February 2017 (UTC)

Merge now done.Crowsus (talk) 16:47, 12 November 2017 (UTC)