Leeds United defender Luke Ayling has been voted one of the most brilliant players to have gone through Arsenal’s youth system, alongside Jack Wilshere.
In recent seasons, the Whites have seen a slew of talented players come and depart from their squad, hailing from a range of backgrounds.
Many of the squad have come up through the ranks at some of the greatest teams in the country, which has helped them flourish here.
Luke Ayling, one of Arsenal’s best?
Luke Ayling never made a senior appearance for Arsenal after coming through their youth system, just appearing on the bench once in the Champions League under Arsene Wenger.
That didn’t stop him from impressing in the academy among bright stars like Jack Wilshere and others.
Emmanuel Frimpong, an Arsenal youth product, believes Ayling was technically superior than the players in that group, which included Wilshere, Sanchez Watt, Francis Coquelin, and others.
Frimpong stated on Arsenal’s YouTube channel:
“Coquelin was excellent, and he arrived later.” Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Jack Wilshere, Sanchez Watt, and Luke Ayling started at the start. Luke was excellent, however he was quite slow. Technically, he was the finest, and as a defender, he was excellent.”
Looking back at some of Ayling’s best moments in a Leeds shirt, there’s a lot about his game that comes from past solid coaching.
Sure, he appears to have lost a lot of speed in the last year, but he’s a player who was excellent for us under Marcelo Bielsa.
It’s debatable whether he was technically better than Wilshere, considering he was extraordinary before his injury.
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