Arsenal face Bradford in the Capital One Cup tomorrow at Valley Parade.
Arsenal’s game with Bradford in the Capital One Cup is one the club, and importantly Arsene Wenger, cannot afford to lose.
Yet the manager is unlikely to have second thoughts about throwing in promising youngster Jernade Meade at left-back for his first professional start in English football.
Meade made his Arsenal debut last week, starting in Greece in the Champions League tie away to Olympiakos, impressing fans and manager, particularly in the first half.
“When you come from the under-21s, it’s a massive change in intensity. He did very well. I’m pleased with his attitude and the fact that he was not fazed. I remember the first ball he got, he cut inside when he was closed down and played the ball. You think there’s something there,” said Wenger.
The game against Bradford, while an important quarter-final, gives the Gunners boss another great opportunity to take a look at the left-back and decide whether he can be of use in the Premier League.
The position has been a problem one for Arsenal over the past 12 months; even though Kieran Gibbs has been excellent – His regular injuries has often meant Arsenal are scrambling for solutions.
The answer was supposed to be Andre Santos, but he has proved so far that he can’t be trusted and could leave the club in January or next summer, and captain Thomas Vermaelen has been forced to fill in at left-back.
The prospects of Meade, which he has an opportunity to enhance tomorrow night, can go some way to providing a genuine alternative.
The match is an important one, but so was last week’s game in Greece, and Wenger is unlikely to have any qualms about throwing in Meade in a competition which he has regularly handed chances to youngsters over his 15-year tenure at the club.
Meade came on as a substitute against Reading in the last round in extra-time, replacing Ignasi Miquel. The 20-year-old started off as a winger, but has since been converted to a more defensive role.
For the player who says he modelled himself on Ashley Cole, and even includes the left-back in his all-time XI, he could now be in with a real chance of proving he can follow in the footsteps the now Chelsea man once trod – It’s just up to him to seize his opportunity, and not be on the receiving ends of one of the most notorious League Cup upsets in recent memory.
Should Meade start tomorrow? If not who should play at left-back?
image: © manc72
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