Steve Bould: The NextGen games will be high in quality

Steve Bould believes Arsenal’s participation in next season’s NextGen Series will prove to be an “invaluable” experience for the Club’s young players. The under-19s tournament draws together 24 teams from around Europe to play in a competition that closely resembles the Champions League. Its inaugural season was seen as a huge success, and Bould is delighted the Gunners will take part in the 2012/13 campaign. “I went to watch a couple of the NextGen games this season and they were very high in quality,” he told Arsenal Player. “It's something I think we need to be involved in and it is another learning curve because you are playing against European players. “You do the things that the first teams do, the long travels and all the pre-match build-up. You are playing against some mighty big teams - Barcelona are in it this year - so I just think it will be invaluable.”