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MH7KiNG won the Throwdown.

MH7KiNG

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cowace2

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Los Angeles, CA
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Throwndowns: 103
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Buttville, US
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Soccer Throwdown


Only accept if you know a lot about soccer.

My argument made short: Carlos Vela will be a big star for Arsenal when he transfers back with them this summer.

Carlos Vela (On loan) from Osasuna in the LFP is set to join English Giant Arsenal this summer. He is only 18 years old, and he is already looking like a pearl. Vela was part of the Mexican U-17 team, which took the gold cup in 2005. He was awarded the Golden Boot award, as he scored the most goals in the tournament. Carlos has been part of Arsenal since 2005, but was not able to acquire a work permit, making him uneligable to play. But this summer, it is time for him to show everyone why many people praise the young fella.


Vela will be a star, but not the minute he reports to Arsenal. The reason is pretty simple...he won't be a first team choice right away.

First, he's started in less than half the games at Osasuna, a team which is currently in the relegation zone in La Liga. Doesn't bode well for his playing time to be moving from a relegation contender in one league to a championship contender in another.

Second, at Highbury, he'll be competing with proven Premiership strikers (Adebayor, van Persie) , some world-class young talent (Bendtner and Walcott), and a solid backup (da Silva) so the chances of him breaking into the first team in his first season is pretty slim, it not completely nonexistant.

Honestly, I would be very surprised, even if his work permit is granted, if Arsenal doesn't send him out on loan again.


True has has started around half the games for Osasuna, but that was because he started training with the team three weeks late. This was because of his participation in the U-20 WC over the summer. Now in the games he has started, he has been awesome. Just check him out versus Real Madrid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuIJkWbKI7U

I know he is good enough to be a regular substitute for them if needed, since they already have Adebayor and Van Persie. But, there are already talks that Walcott may be leaving the squad, due to his inability to perform consistently. Walcott is at times a starter, and Vela can battle with him for that spot. In that battle, Vela will be the winner, giving him the playing time needed to shine.


Based on Wenger's past, he is usually hesistant to rotate players in such a way that a third striker is going to get enough minutes to be productive, let alone be a star.

Even if Walcott loses the #4 position to Vela, he's only started 4 games and subbed in 9 this season, and many of those were on the wing. Take him out of the equation and he's still competing with three players (RvP, Adebayor, Bendtner) who are all young, very talented, and have all proven themselves already as legitimate threats in the English game (remember Bendtner was a regular starter at Birmingham).

There isn't really much of a chance he sees the field much this early in his career, especially with a group of strikers as young and talented as Arsenal's.


Wenger has shown in his past that he is not afraid to let his young players shine. Vela will show what he's got, and will become a regular for them. Vela plays the wing, mostly the left (You can see this in the video i stated in my second argument). It is early in his career considering he is 18, but he has been a world champion since he was 16. Arsenal does have a group of young, talented strikers but that's what Vela is, YOUNG AND TALENTED!


Unfortunately for Vela, Arsenal is also pretty deep along the left side (Rosicky, RvP, Hleb, etc). Just like up front, it is going to be very difficult for him to break into a regular place. He might be a bit better off if he could play on the right; I'm not sure if he can/will or not.

The trouble with having a team where everyone is "young and talented" is that it makes it that much more difficult for one young player to break into the starting lineup. Instead of having the excuse of "giving the young players some playing time", like what you'd see on a team with some older players, there really isn't any excuse for not putting out your best team.

Additionally, there's always the concern of a young player adapting to the English game (all the other Arsenal youngsters have already proven themselves as such), and the very good chance that Wenger will not want his young superstar sitting on the bench for a season or two while his ranks up front thin out a bit. There are a lot of teams who would love to loan Vela and give him a starting spot straight away, and that is probably the smarter move for Arsenal's future right now.

Comments (30)

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Good TD. I will have to side with MH7 only because Wenger truly lets youth be served. Theo Walcott being a prime example. If Vela plays well in FA and Carling cups, which is something I think Wenger will allow him to do, he should be on the fast track to greatness.

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Good TD. I see cowace's point. Vela will be behind a still young Van Persie and Adabayor.

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To expound a bit, what I see happening is Vela going to another Spanish team next season where he should be a first team choice, then he'll come back in 2009 after Arsenal sells Adebayor or Bendtner to Chelsea for some ridiculous amount of money, which they will then use to buy the next great young talent.

I hate Arsenal.

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It will be very hard for him, like J Hova said, to get playing time behind blooming stars Van Persie and especially Adabayor. I think that he should try to get loaned to a club that needs young talent in the midfield and will give him a legitimate shot to play in a strong league so he can build up his skill and name.

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Wow, i guess people do look at soccer throwdowns. All of you have made comments that sound like you know much about the topic. Props to you all!

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There is a few of us around here that actually care about the Beautiful Game.

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I would point out that Giovanni @ Barca should be playing behind Henry, Eto'o, & Messi, and he seems to do doing okay. All of this stuff is speculation, so who knows? He may have trouble adjusting and 100 other things no one factors in...but I am an optimist.

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My first sentence should start of:
"True HE has started"
Just clearing things up.

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I don't know, but am I the only one that thinks dos Santos is vastly overated?

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I am also optimistic +1. Vela and Giovani are both good youngsters.
Gio is an example of my argument. He is playing in a team loaded with talent and yet gets to start games at times. I consider Dos Santos a star. He shows that you can be called one, even coming off the bench. Same goes for Bojan Krkic at Barcelona.

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It is easy to overate young prospects. Giovani is also only 18 and will soon live up to the hype at Barca. He has shown his talent many times.

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I'm just not drinking his kool-aid. I know he's a good player, but I don't think he should be considered a star. I reserve "star" for those people who I believe are the best of the best. I just don't think dos Santos is there yet.

Another thing I believe is that English clubs should start tapping into the talent in the Scottish Premier leagues. For instance, McDonald is a great player and could do well in league like EPL or possibly Serie A, but they don't seem willing to go in and try for guys like that as they used to.

Also, I believe that despite contrary opinion, that the Bundesliga is pretty much just as strong as any other league, and there players don't get the credit they deserve.

Ah, I miss ranting about soccer...

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Regardless of how overrated Gio is, he is getting chosen before Henry is, so this proves that you never know how things are going to work out (especially with injury). I like how Arsenal develops talent and youth, and I can't see why he couldn't work out with the other forwards playing with the Gunners under the circumstances.

...and this is coming from a die-hard USMNT fan. It really is kinda scary thinking about the talent Mexico is going to have up front for the next 12 years. I wish this weren't the case, but I hold this to be true.

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We are always ranting about soccer in the Truth & Rumors section Wallace.

I don't feel the Bundisliga is that strong. They are shambolic in the champions league and their teams suffer from too much parity.

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I think the best of the best are "legends." This is my opinion.
Bundes Liga is a strong league, and so are many others in the world but people are fixated on the famous ones.

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+1, I don't participate in T&R. Too hard to follow and too many people that are stupid in there. I will go and read all the stories, but rarely comment.

MH7KiNG, I agree exactly. The fame of the other leagues begins to overshadow alot of other leagues. Now, I know alot of Bundesliga teams aren't up to par with certain teams in EPL and La Liga, but they have just as much talent there.

I would take a starting group up front of Klose, Toni, and Rosicky over any other in the world pretty much- but alot of people don't think the Bundes is as strong.

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Yup. It's just as strong as any other BIG league, and Bayern is a world class team. Isnt Rosicky with Arsenal though? Or what did you mean?

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Damn. Meant Ribery. I always do that.

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Too bad Rosicky plays for Arsenal now :-)

I had high hopes for Munich at the start of the season, but they should be thrashing the rest of that league. I can't believe Werder Bremen is even giving them a race, even with Diego.

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Just want to give props to cowace2 for putting up a good throwdown.

So did anyone watch the video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuIJkWbKI7U

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