Nichols, Kacurri and Sagoe Jr set to stay with Arsenal U21s with the club’s lack of loan deals a concern

As the transfer window closed last night it became clear that three of the older players in Arsenal’s U21 squad – Josh Nichols, Maldini Kacurri and Charles Sagoe Jr – will be staying at the club for the first half of the season at least after moves failed to materialise.

It is clear that all three players are in need of senior football of some description as opposed to remaining in the U21s.

Right-back Nichols, 19, made his competitive senior debut against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup last season and has been involved in two first-team pre-season tours.

Centre-back Kacurri, 19, has just received his first senior callup to the Albania national team and also featured for the Arsenal first-team against Bolton last season before playing three games on loan at Bromley.

Winger Sagoe Jr, 21, has previously had loan spells at Swansea City and Shrewsbury Town and also has a competitive senior appearance for the Arsenal first-team to his name.

Between them Nichols, Kacurri and Sagoe Jr have played 95 games for Arsenal U21s. They have certainly gained enough experience at that level to the extent that it is no longer a major challenge for them.

It isn’t an entirely negative situation as the trio can use their experience to help the younger members of the U21 squad.

However, from a personal perspective this isn’t a good scenario for the trio. Nichols perhaps has a chance of getting on the bench in the Carabao Cup but with Jurrien Timber and Ben White ahead of him as well as Cristhian Mosquera being able to play at right-back, his chances of significant action seem minimal.

Kacurri, meanwhile, seems to have been overtaken by first-year scholar Marli Salmon in the pecking order, while Sagoe Jr wasn’t involved with the first-team in pre-season.

All three players are talented but it is a concern that moves haven’t been arranged for them by this stage.

Nichols and Kacurri see their contracts expire next year so there is a possibility that they could stay with the U21s this season before leaving for free next summer.

The same situation occurred with the likes of Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Khayon Edwards, Salah-Eddine, Jack Henry-Francis and Jimi Gower last season.

Those players were involved in first-team training sessions and some got on the bench, with Butler-Oyedeji making two senior appearances. However, better arrangements should have been made to ensure that players were sold or received better loans earlier in their development so that a transfer fee could have been obtained for them as opposed to just compensation.

There will always be some youngsters who end up leaving for free but at Arsenal it is becoming a concerning trend.

Once a player has been involved with the U21s for more than two seasons it isn’t really beneficial for them to still be playing at that level and they deserve the chance to make an impact elsewhere.

Arsenal loaned out just two academy players this summer in Ismeal Kabia (Shrewsbury Town) and Lucas Nygaard (Brabren). There seems to have been a deliberate decision in recent years at academy level to mainly move away from loans.

The current U21 squad is very small and there were only three arrivals at that level this summer in Marcell Washington, Demiane Agustien and Remy Mitchell despite suggestions that there would be significant investment.

There are plenty of promising players who can step up from the U18 squad, however, and the positive is that Arsenal have already managed to tie down many of the second years to professional contracts, which should lead to a stronger U21 squad next season.

There is still much for the academy to improve upon, though, in terms of the amount of money that they generate from sales at youth level.