Watching on from the bench must be a frustrating act, especially when your side is losing and internally the belief is there you can make a difference. This perhaps might have been the case for Amario Cozier-Duberry who was indeed called up to the Arsenal first team squad for the trip to Everton at the weekend.
He watched on as Arsenal were unable to turn around the scoreline having gone 1-0 down to a James Tarkowski header. Mikel Arteta made four changes in the second half from an available five but left his final attacking option to watch on, Cozier-Duberry.
Arteta has done this plenty of times already during his tenure as the Arsenal boss. Omari Hutchinson even left the club for Chelsea with the youngster making his Premier League debut under Graham Potter this season, although with the money now spent by the Blues, there’s perhaps some regret in the move with several senior stars ahead of him.
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Returning to Cozier-Duberry, however, the 17-year-old played in last night’s 4-2 FA Youth Cup win over Watford. After Jack Wilshere watched his side go two goals behind, a comeback inspired by the aforementioned Hale Ender saw four goals scored between the 56th and 69th minutes.
Two penalties from Cozier-Duberry bookended further strikes from Osman Kamara and Michal Rosiak. Although both of his goals were from the penalty spot, his overall performance was excellent, making driving runs, penetrating passes into the box and attempting dangerous crosses.
All things which perhaps Arteta could have massively benefited from on Saturday lunchtime. Although, it's unlikely that Cozier-Duberry will even make the bench for the clash with Brentford this weekend.
The unfortunate timing of the returns of both Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe have sadly blocked that doorway. Although it is good to have more options available to the Gunners’ manager, a missed opportunity to try the young starlet will be a difficult pill to swallow.
Rumours that Ethan Nwaneri is of interest to plenty of top Premier League clubs will create some nervousness around the academy staff. Were Arteta more willing to give these chances to some youngsters when the situation permits, it might give Arsenal greater evidence to show a pathway to opportunity when trying to convince the starlets to stay.
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