Football Association chairman Greg Dyke floated the idea of inducting feeder sides or ‘B’ teams of the Premier League clubs at various divisions, which would help in improving the standard of English football.

This model is followed in various top leagues of the world. In Spain, Barcelona ‘B’ and Real Madrid Castilla play in the Segunda division (second division). In Germany, Borussia Dortmund II plays in the 3.Fussball Liga and Bayern Munich II compete in the fourth-tier. Most of these second teams consist of junior players.

Arsene Wenger has brought in the likes of England internationals Ashley Cole, Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs through Arsenal’s youth system. He has also helped in developing the home-grown talents of Theo Walcott, Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Dailymail quoted Wenger: ‘I like it personally. The FA made big efforts to reorganise the whole system (of youth football) and there are too many players who are lost in a situation where they don’t have any future.

‘If we have a player who is under-21 at Arsenal and has not played for the first team, that means he has started to play in the reserves at 17 or 18.

‘For three years he is playing in this (under-21) league and still does not go up (to the first team). They don’t see where they can go.

‘For example we have 45 players between 16 and 21. You need to keep 20 from 19 to 21. Among this 20, not many have a realistic chance to play one day for the (Arsenal) first team.

‘If you multiply that by 20, you have 400 players in professional top clubs who have no real chance to ever play for the first team.

‘It would be better for them to play somewhere. They know as well they will never play for the Arsenal first team or Manchester first team. It is demoralising for them to be there.’

Wenger insisted linking with clubs in the lower divisions would be of mutual benefit.

‘Barnet is a good example and could be a good feeder club for us.

‘But also you don’t want to destroy clubs like Barnet, so you have to find a good mixture between the two.

‘I respect the history of English football and maybe you should just organise a league of professional clubs – a feeder league.’

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