Arsenal: Szczesny, Oxlade-Chamberlain Remain Confident of Top 4 Finish

The newest set of Arsenal youngsters has a certain "it" quality about them. It's that indefinable trait often seen in the greatest leaders. And while glory and accolades are a long ways off for most of these youngsters, they seem to have the kind of makeup that can make them truly great one day.

Since the last trophy came to north London—in that long-lost year of 2005—we've seen youth movements filter through the Arsenal ranks like Kardashian-themed TV shows. They just keep on a'coming, for better or worse, that last adage something that Kim should think about before she takes less than a month to end a marriage.

That's my last pop culture reference, I swear.

As with all ambitious experiments, some of Wenger's youth movements came off brilliantly, some did not. That's the nature of the beast. For every Cesc Fabregas, there's two or three academy products who simply do not pan out or choose to ply their trade elsewhere. It seems each league match Arsenal play, there's a mention of a former Gunner (Steve Sidwell, Jermaine Pennant, Jay Simpson.)

It wasn't the fact that some didn't work out that most rankled my feathers: it was that many simply didn't seem to have the necessary make-up you want to see in a side that should be competing for the title each season.

It might have been Denilson lolling back in defense while the other team surged ahead of him with venomous counter-attacking intent. It could have been Jay Emanuel-Thomas, who for all his considerable reserves of talent, never showed the consistency and desire for a regular first-team spot (wait, but Andrei Arshavin has? But I digress...)

Contrast Denilson's effort to that of Francis Coquelin, seen in action this season against Shrewsbury Town launching upon a lung-bursting effort to track back and save what could have been a goal for the opposition.

Or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain showing no fear in making his full Premiership debut on Sunday against reigning champions Manchester United, notching an assist and creating several goal-scoring chances.

It's that kind of mentality that the club needs going forward—for all the lack of trophies in recent seasons, it's not as if Arsenal have been well and fully off the title track.

Whether it was the 2007-08 title challenge (Arsenal was in first place in the standings as late as February of that year), or being in the running for four trophies at this time a season ago, the Gunners always had shots to obtain silverware.

They just couldn't move in for the kill.

I believe this resulted from the well-documented lack of leadership (for all Cesc Fabregas's remarkable talent—and he certainly led by example—I don't think he was the captain Arsenal needed), a Tony Adams type who could get in the face of players when the situation called for it.

I won't even begin with that embarrassing image of William Gallas throwing a fit in the St. Andrew's goal against Birmingham City back during that Eduardo-leg-break match in '08. Patrick Vieira would've pulled Gallas out of the goal and given him a stern talking to about his duty as a player.

Problem was, Gallas was captain at that point.

Even so, I think a player like Frimpong wouldn't have stood for that kind of reaction from a teammate, no matter his position within the club. It's that kind of attitude that's been sorely missed.

Perhaps a sense of complacency set in—young players were rewarded with massive contract extensions when they may not have deserved it, but there did seem to be something lacking in many of that last generation of talent, many of whom now find themselves out on loan in their mid-20s.

Here's where the kicker comes into play:

I think this new batch of Arsenal's youngsters—the Szczesnys, the Wilsheres, Frimpongs, Coquelins and Oxlade-Chamberlains, and going down the line to those on the cusp of first-team action—the Afobes, the Watts (by the way what happened to Craig Eastmond?) etc.., have the kind of hutzpah and desire seen in another group of youngsters who came up through an academy together and went on to secure heaping amounts of silverware not so long ago.

While comparisons are always a messy ordeal—how closely can anyone resemble another person, after all—I see a couple between the new Arsenal youth brigade and that of Manchester United back in the early 1990s, which contained the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and the Neville brothers, players all who would be involved in United's surge to dominance in the latter part of that decade and on into the new milennium.

Perhaps it's Oxlade-Chamberlain telling Chris Harris of Arsenal.com that "We always look to win, we know the task that lies ahead of us but we have belief within the dressing room. The boss believes, the boys believe and we know we have the quality that it takes. We are just going to keep working hard and try to correct our mistakes."

Or maybe it's Szczesny echoing that sentiment with his assurance that the Gunners "will pick themselves back up" and grab that coveted fourth-place league finish, with the non-negligible incentive of Champions League football—remember, that prospect was one of the reasons Mikel Arteta decided to sign with Arsenal last August.

Arsenal players have made similar statements over the years—I remember Gael Clichy in particular—but something just feels different this time around.

Twitter certainly seems to play a role. It's both reassuring, and a bit intriguing to see the banter between some of the aforementioned younger Gunners. By all accounts, they appear as a close-knit group. 

That can only help once they see the pitch together. This is no la Masia type mentality, but players who come up together within a team do seem better for it.

But back to the mental side of it.

Perhaps it's Frimpong unafraid to go toe-to-toe with Samir Nasri after the Carling Cup loss against Manchester City this past November—for that matter, Frimpong doesn't seem too scared about having a go with anybody, Piers Morgan included.

These kids aren't easily cowed. And with an Arsenal performance on Sunday that threatened so often to spiral out of control thanks to what seemed a relentless United siege on goal in the first half, some new blood in the side would have been welcome indeed.

We already saw what Oxlade-Chamberlain could do, providing the decisive assist for Van Persie on the then-equalizing goal all the while playing through an apparent calf injury.

With his side down, the situation demanded he produce something in the way of an attacking contribution, and he did just that, no matter how loudly his legs were screaming at him.

I think the rest can show similar signs of mental fortitude and intent.

The ball's in Wenger's court to let them do so on a more consistent basis.

And while he's doing that, one last wish:

Please never bring on Andrei Arshavin, ever, ever again.