North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham have secured the departure of Evan Mooney and James Wilson from Scotland, with both teams completing deadline-day deals, but their moves have been criticized
Thomas Frank and Mikel Arteta saw youngsters sign for the club on deadline day
Arsenal and Tottenham have reportedly taken a ‘step backwards’ in making moves for Evan Mooney and James Wilson on deadline day. The Scottish wonderkid completed his move to North London at the end of the January transfer window.
Mooney, 18, has signed for Arsenal from St Mirren and is expected to join the club’s development squad. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Wilson joined Spurs on loan from Hearts until the end of the season with an option to buy.
However, former Hearts star Rian Stephenson claims it will be difficult to get a chance at a new club and the respective switch is closed.
Speaking on BBC Sport Sound, he said: “They’re a great club and facility, but it’s hard to understand why they would leave a good first-team environment to go to a 21-team team where there might only be 50 people watching the games.”
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“In my eyes, this is kind of a step backwards, because if you’re a footballer, eventually you want to play in first-team matches.
“He wakes up on Saturday and goes into the changing room getting ready for the 3pm game. Regardless of which side of the league you’re on, you’re about three points away.”
He added: “You’re actually playing for something. That’s the end for us footballers. They could go there and end up in the first team at Arsenal and Spurs, but I very much doubt that will happen.”
“So I look at it as a step back, but if he’s playing 50 to 100 games, there should be a little more substance behind it.
James Wilson completed his move to Spurs in January (Image: Getty Images)
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“But the flip side of that is that they both have a great opportunity and if they continue to do really, really well, they could be out there in six months to a year and challenge me.
“These are top-flight clubs in the Premier League with players worth millions and millions of pounds, so it would be almost impossible to break into the first-team squad.”
Mooney was not the only young player to complete a loan move to north London. Arsenal have also completed the signing of teenage defender Jayden Dixon, who joined the club from Championship side Stoke City. He is also expected to continue his development within the Gunners’ youth ranks.
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