text: Arsenal FC - Why Gedion Zelalem Is Worth The Hype
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  Arsenal FC – Why Gedion Zelalem Is Worth The Hype
  By Amlan Majumdar on July 22, 2013 8:28 pm
  Arsenal FC have a wonderful crop of youngsters in their youth team, who are knocking on the door of first team football. But one names stands out from the rest, and he is more than just another over-hyped youngster. We take a look at German hotshotAi??Gedion Zelalem.
  ai???The next big thingai??i?? ai??i?? youngsters these days are readily labelled with this tag. In an age where it takes only few good performances to be spotlighted as the ai???next Zidaneai??i?? or ai???next Xaviai??i?? for a kid, one must be careful about swallowing everything the media provides us with. Too many young talents have been lost in time, under increased media pressure and magnified expectations. It is very easy to over hype a player, even before he has learned his tread or fulfilled any of his potential. Potential of course doesnai??i??t guarantee success; there are a lot of things that must fall into place for someone to achieve his/her optimum. For a footballer, injury, getting the opportunities at the right time, the clubai??i??s confidence in him, ability to handle pressure and expectations and most importantly hard work plays a big role in shaping up his future. But despite such uncontrollable parameters, at times one look at certain player and you almost know that he is destined to achieve great things in the future. Arsenal youngster Gedion Zelalem is one of those names, you can expect to hear a lot about in the upcoming season.
  Two years back when Arsenal fans were left heartbroken as Cesc Fabregas left for Barcelona. Although his departure to his boyhood club was only a matter of time, it was hard for the Gunners to get over it. During those troubled times, very few Gooners would have noticed the arrival of a 14-year-old kid from America at London Colney. The fact that reports of him joining Arsenal emerged just a week after Fabregasai??i?? departure now seems more than just a coincidence ai??i?? it was destiny perhaps.
  Fast forwarding to the present day, nearly every Arsenal fan is excited about a 16-year-old making a huge impact in their pre-season tour ai??i?? at almost the same age when Fabregas made his first team debut for the Gunners. And looking at his performances and the amount of confidence Arsenalai??i??s coaching staff has in him, it isnai??i??t hard to image Zelalem being fast tracked into the first team this season.
  Zelalem was born in Germany, but his parents are from Ethiopia – Which means he could still possibly choose to represent any of Germany, Ethiopia or USA in the international stage. Although his father, who was granted asylum in Germany back in 1990, wants him to represent the European nation, as he is thankful to the nation for helping him.
  ai???Itai??i??s my dream. I want to say thank you to the country that helped me. Iai??i??m grateful to Germany.ai??? – Zelalem WoldyesAi??Ai?? said.
  His father has been the biggest influence in his career so far, as someone who has guided him at every step, especially after his mother passed away in 2005. Zelalem was initially enrolled into the youth program of German club Hertha Berlin, but soon he moved to United States where he went on to represent Olney Soccer Club, Walter Johnson High School team and Maryland. Even as a kid, he impressed his coaches with his talent, and soon he was part of the USA youth camp ai??i?? held in California in 2011. But Matt Pilkington, his coach at Olney, instantly realised that Zelalem needed a much bigger platform.
  ai???Heai??i??s a special player.The balance, the vision, the ideas ai??i?? you donai??i??t see that often at his age.ai??? ai??i?? Pilkington said about him.
  Pilkington informed Danny Karbassiyoon, who is an Arsenal scout, about this bright little kid from Germany, who has been making a name for himself. Karbassiyoon watched over Zelalem in the famous Dallas Cup and immediately recommended him to the Gunners. Soon, he arrived at Colney for a 10-day trial, where he even trained with the Arsenal first team for a period.
  ai???Heai??i??s a very talented playerai??i??Heai??i??s got a few options going forward. Heai??i??s getting a lot of interest from scouts all over Europe. The Arsenal scouts have been to see him a bunch of times and decided to take him over for a 10-day trial with their academy.ai??? ai??i?? Pilkington said back then.
  Ai??It was a huge moment for the 14-year-old, who at first was overawed by the occasion, before settling in.
  ai???Once I got there, I was nervous. The first day, I was staring, but I got used to it.ai??? ai??i?? Zelalem said in an interview.
  He impressed the Arsenal coaching staff during his stay at the club and it didnai??i??t take long for them to strike a deal. It was decided that Zelalem will sign a contract after he reaches the required age in 2013. This year, he was directly included in the Arsenal U21 team and made his debut against Liverpool. He impressed immediately and became a regular in that age group in the Arsenal starting line-up.
  There are still doubts about which nation he would eventually represent in the international stage. As stated earlier, his father wants him to represent his land of birth Germany, but he is also said to have applied for an American passport. With the recent outbreak of numerous talents in the German youth teams, Zelalem will find it hard to find a break for Nationalmannschaft. Moreover, the arrival of Jurgen Klinsmann as the manager of USA, has also made them an attractive option for the youngster.
  Richie Williams, the coach of U-17 US team (where Zelalem has trained), has expressed his desire for him to represent the nation. He has also predicted a great future ahead of the youngster. He said, back in 2011 –
  ai???He is obviously talented and we would love to have him.ai???
  It is easy to gauge how well Zelalem has impressed all his coaches and team mates back during his spell in the American continent. Mike Williams, the coach of Walter Johnson High school, predicted back then to see him in the Arsenal first team in three years. Well he is of the mark, Zelalem has made it to the first team in two years; be it in the preseason tour.
  ai???We will see Gedion in Arsenalai??i??s first team three years from now. Heai??i??s got a great future. I was happy to have him for one year.ai???
  Zelalem is not different from the host of playmaking/attacking midfielders that Arsenal have at the moment, but what stands out about him is how good he is at it at this age. He is comfortable playing both as a deep-lying playmaker, like Arteta, or as an advanced playmaker like Cazorla. One of his former coaches compared his style of play and vision to the legendary Zidane.
  ai???Gedion is a special talent with vision and creativity that is rarely seen, even at the highest level. His touch, balance and ideas set him apart and he has potential to become one of top players in the game, with a similar style to the great Zidane.ai???
  For someone who is as young as him, Zelalem has excellent composure with the ball at his feet. Despite being pressed by opponents, he has shown the ability to keep possession and distribute the ball with calmness that belies his age. This is a trait that is very rare even among the most talented of youngsters. Even now Theo Walcott is criticized for his lack of composure in the final third, before delivering the final ball or shooting in front of goal.
  Some players always gives you the impression that they are being hurried, while few seem to have enough time on their hands to look up and find a teammate in space. Zelalem always seems to have that extra bit of time in his hand, when he has the ball at his feet. His speed of thought has also drawn praises from his former teammates.
  ai???Being from Europe, you can see he is a little ahead. Heai??i??s very skillful and a quick thinker.ai??? ai??i?? said Walter Johnson senior midfielder Gerry Madden.
  Another strong point about Zelalem is that he doesnai??i??t over-elaborate and keeps it fairly simple. Talented youngsters at times can try too hard to impress or display their skills; it comes from the lack of maturity due to age. But Zelalem seems to have maturity beyond his years. He has displayed the knack of knowing when to go for an outrageous through ball, and when to play a simple pass to his team mate beside him.
  But all this is not to say that he has already developed every part of his game. Zelalem needs to build-up physically. He has tremendous stamina (perhaps expected from someone of Ethiopian decent), but needs to improve his upper body strength. The youngster also needs to develop his shooting, which isnai??i??t of the highest order.
  Another trait that has been noted during his short but eventful stint for the U21 teams last season, was the fact that at times he almost shies away from dominating games that are there for him to command. But one must also consider that he has completely skipped the U18 team at Arsenal and was playing around players a lot experienced than him. That might have brought inhibition in expressing himself at times.
  Zelalem has impressed once again the in the preseason campaign and ai???thatai??i?? pass to Oxlade Chamberlain, which set up Akpomai??i??s goal in the 7-1 victory over Vietnam, perhaps brought to the forefront all his abilities and highlighted why he is rated so highly. The composure on the ball when he received it, which meant he didnai??i??t hurry the pass and drew one of the defenders towards him (which in turn created space at the back for Chamberlain to make his run), the brilliant touch and drop of a shoulder to shift it to his right foot after receiving it with his left, the awareness of Chamberlainai??i??s run and the vision to see the opening and most importantly the execution of the pass, which nearly took out four defenders in front of him.
  Yes, it was only Vietnam and it was only a pre-season friendly, but one doesnai??i??t get to see a youngster with such quality and vision each day. We can easily cross the fine line and overhype him, but Zelalem stands out from a crop of extremely talented youngsters that Arsenalai??i??s youth ranks have at the moment. Arsenal fans are excited about him, and they should be. Last young kid who displayed such talent and vision was perhaps Fabregas and although he might not get a chance in Premier League next season, but like Cesc, he might very well make his debut in the League Cup sooner than expected. Arsenal have a gem in their hands, and although future is hard to predict, he is almost ready to make an impact in the present itself. Remember this name – Gedion Zelalem.