Back to the Soccer Newsfeed

Why Arsenal's Use of Youth in Spite of Summer Signings Casts a Positive Light Moving Forward

Valentine's Day, 2005. Crystal Palace at home. It is a day that signalled a shift in the way English football was heading, as Arsenal became the first Premier League side to field an entire matchday squad without a single Englishman.

Since those days, we've seen a plethora of wonderful, world-class foreign players grace the English game. We've also seen the Gunners affectionately referred to as 'Le Arsenal' due to their large contingent of French players.

However, on Sunday Arsenal fans were able to look down from the away end in the upper reaches of St James' Park on a starting lineup which – while it screamed 'pre-season friendly' – was in fact their newly transformed squad in a top-flight encounter.