Many fans were worried when Arsene Wenger made 17-year-old Krystian Bielik our first signing of the January transfer window, believing the boss may look to throw the young Pole straight in at the deep end.
It doesn’t seem like Bielik will be featuring for the first team any time soon however, with Wenger revealing we may have to wait until next season to see him in action, as reported by the Metro.
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The emergence of Francis Coquelin has lessened our need for a defensive midfielder, which means the manager is in no hurry to push Bielik into the first team fold. Young players can sometimes take a little longer to adapt, and Wenger is clearly unwilling to rush our January acquisition.
“Krystian Bielik is building up his fitness,” he said
“The first signs we have seen are very positive.
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“He’s a very strong player, he’s 17, he has a very good technical level and looks intelligent. But we’ll have to give him a little time to settle and adapt.”
Despite the praise heaped on the former Legia Warsaw star, Le Prof clearly doesn’t think he’s ready to make the step up just yet. Assuming we don’t suffer a glut of injuries in his position – a dangerous assumption I know – then Bielik is unlikely to feature until next season.
“I like to take players of that age mid-season because it gives them a cushion of four or five months to settle, adapt and then be ready for the following season,” he continued.
If we want to see what the teenage midfielder is capable of immediately, then we may have to settle for some Under-21s action according to Wenger.
“Serge will play on Monday night [with the Under-21s] at Newcastle, with Bielik. Bielik is coming along very well,” he finished.
It’s good to hear that the boss didn’t bring Bielik to the Emirates in the hopes he would have an immediate impact, but we need to make sure Coquelin remains injury free for the rest of the campaign.
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