Different styles, same mentality

It says it all about the two clubs’ respective approaches to youth development that Chelsea’s least experienced player in tonight’s Capital One Cup tie will have played in a Champions League final, while Arsenal’s has made just a solitary professional appearance for his club.

This is not to denigrate either method; rather it is to emphasise there is more than one way to skin a cat, and that both the London rivals have steadfastly stuck to their respective philosophies.

In many ways, they are simply implementing the same system — just five years apart.