Cole Bassett, Colorado Rapids midfielder, given Arsenal trial

In a slow news week because of an international break, at least one kid got some exciting news. Cole Bassett, an 18 year old midfielder who just finished his season with the Colorado Rapids, was given a week-long trial at Arsenal that started yesterday.

It’s not too hard to see why this happened; Stan Kroenke owns both teams and, at least officially, they have a partnership, although I’ve never really been able to understand what that partnership actually entails in a real-world sense (and I’ve tried, several times, through the Rapids). That said, though, Arsenal might see more in this kid than most, because this isn’t exactly a common occurrence at Arsenal.

It’s not like there’s a steady conveyor belt of trialists going from Commerce City to London every MLS off-season, after all - this is a fairly rare thing, and while I don’t have a whole lot of hope Bassett will make enough of an impression that the club says “you know what, don’t go back to Colorado, just stay here!”, it’s invaluable experience for the kid, and I hope he makes the most of it.

He’s being very clear-eyed about it, as well, saying “I don’t know which team it will be (that I train with) because it’s an international break for them”. He gets what he’s going there for, which is to soak up as much as he can and use it in his career, wherever that takes him. It’d be great if it would take him to Arsenal, but either way, this should be a memorable week for the Colorado native.