Spanish-based youngsters still some way from fulfilling Arsenal dream

The inability of youngsters purchased from clubs outside of the European Union to immediately gain a work permit enabling them to play in England has long been a thorn in Arsenal’s side.

First there was the Carlos Vela saga, with the Mexican having to spend time at Salamanca and Osasuna before finally being able to pull on the Arsenal shirt, then there is the Pedro Botelho situation, which has been a gruelling exercise in patience and endurance for all concerned. Signed from Figueirense in 2007, Botelho has yet to make an appearance for the club at any level and recently concluded his fifth separate loan spell in Spain. Even though the 22 year old, who can play either as a left-back or a left-winger, impressed during his most recent stint with Levante, there are as yet no indications that he will be eligible to play for Arsenal next season.

The same situation applies to two other youngsters who are currently plying their trade in Spain. Samuel Galindo is a full Bolivian international and featured for Arsenal Reserves last pre-season, but has been unable to command a regular place whilst on loan at Gimnastic de Tarragona, having also failed to establish himself at Salamanca the previous season.

Wellington, meanwhile, has shown signs of promise at Alcoyano having escaped his difficult spell with Levante, and was on course to return to Arsenal for pre-season training on July 9th. However, he recently suffered a fractured leg, which may scupper those plans, and, in any case, his chances of gaining a work permit were far from certain even before the injury.

All of this begs the question of whether it is worth Arsenal persisting with the arduously long process required to bring players from outside Europe to the club. On some occasions, it can prove relatively stress free, with Ryo Miyaichi’s spell at Feyenoord providing a springboard for the Japanese youngster to be granted a work permit on the basis that he was deemed a ‘special talent’. However, as Botelho’s situation in particular has demonstrated, in other cases the process can drag on for considerably longer and, when a player has spent half a decade out on loan without even having played for the club, it does seem rather like a waste of time.

In Wellington’s case, however, the situation seems worth pursuing once the Brazilian is over his latest injury, as, if he can improve his temperament, he does have the potential to eventually stake a claim for a place in the Arsenal squad. As far as Botelho is concerned, though, if Arsenal are again unable to obtain a work permit for him this summer, then it may be time to cut their losses.

 

Further departures expected as club look to bed in new scholars

The announcement that six young Arsenal players will leave the club when their contracts expire at the end of next month was not entirely unexpected, although it is likely that they will not to be the only second-string players to depart this summer.

Gavin Hoyte, Rhys Murphy, George Brislen-Hall, Sean McDermott, James Campbell and Jeffrey Monakana will all see their time at the club come to an end shortly, but, with 12 new scholars starting full-time at London Colney from July, there are likely to be several other departures over the ensuing weeks and months.

One candidate to leave is Sanchez Watt, with the striker having failed to establish himself during a loan spell with Crawley Town despite previously impressing whilst with Leeds United. With Joel Campbell and Benik Afobe ahead of him in the pecking order at Arsenal, Watt, who scored on his first-team debut against West Bromwich Albion in the Carling Cup in 2009, could be shown the exit door, with the club likely to be able to command a small fee for the 21 year old, with Leicester City having reportedly expressed their interest in the player.

Watt was initially told by the club that he would be released this summer, but a prolific run of form at Reserve level prompted the club to reverse their decision and instead offer him a contract extension. However, he is still likely to depart and could be joined in that regard by Sead Hajrovic, who spent time last season with Barnet. The Swiss youth international still has a year to run on his contract at the club, but, like Watt, it is believed that Arsenal would be willing to listen to offers for the FIFA U17 World Cup winner.

Henri Lansbury and Kyle Bartley will discuss their futures with Arsene Wenger having both built up considerable experience whilst out on loan, whilst Craig Eastmond could also be sold despite enjoying an impressive season which culminated in a fruitful loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers. Eastmond, who has turned out 10 times for the Arsenal first-team, finds himself behind both Francis Coquelin and Emmanuel Frimpong in the pecking order at the club, and is in need of regular football.

The club confirmed today that Neil Banfield will be joining Steve Bould in being promoted to the first-team coaching staff next season. Banfield, who has been Reserve coach for nine years, will take up the position of First Team Coach, with Bould replacing Pat Rice at assistant manager to Arsene Wenger. Arsenal are yet to confirm who their respective replacements will be, although it is believed that Dermot Drummy, the current coach of Chelsea Reserves, who was previously a youth coach with the Gunners, has been approached to take up Banfield’s role.

Hoyte and Murphy among six released youngsters, with others set to extend stays

Arsenal today confirmed the release of seven players, with Gavin Hoyte and Rhys Murphy, two of the longest serving youngsters at the club, amongst those who will officially depart when their contracts expire at the end of next month.

As well as first-team goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, whose departure had been expected for some time, George Brislen-Hall and Sean McDermott, who both signed scholarship terms in 2009, will also leave, as will scholars James Campbell and Jeffrey Monakana, who failed to earn professional contracts. 

The news means that Jernade Meade, who is also out of contract, is likely to be offered an extension, whilst also indicating that Jordan Wynter, Philip Roberts, Reice Charles-Cook and Samir Bihmoutine will sign professional contracts when their scholarships expire. Ben Glasgow will be offered an extension of his scholarship having missed much of last season through injury, whilst the fact that Alban Bunjaku was not among those to depart suggests that the playmaker, who had a falling out with the club’s coaching staff earlier this season, may still have a chance of salvaging his career at the club.

Hoyte was the only one of the six players from outside the first-team squad to be called up by Arsene Wenger for a senior fixture, and made four first-team appearances in total, all of which came in the 2008/09 season, which included a start in a Premier League defeat to Manchester City. However Hoyte, whose brother Justin left the club in 2008, has spent the majority of the past few seasons out on loan, experiencing spells at Watford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Lincoln City and, most recently, AFC Wimbledon. One of the quickest players at the club, he came top in the sprint tests in a pre-season training camp in Austria in 2007, Hoyte struggled to make in-roads into the first-team, with the likes of Ignasi Miquel and Kyle Bartley overtaking him in recent years.

Murphy, meanwhile, can be deemed somewhat unfortunate in that much of his short time as a professional footballer has been severely hampered by injury. He signed scholarship terms in 2007 and was an unused substitute in the inaugural Emirates Cup off the back of a season in which he struck 20 goals for the under-18s whilst still a schoolboy. Despite lengthy spells on the treatment table, he played a key role in the FA Youth Cup success of 2008/09 and scored the goal that clinched the Academy League title at White Hart Lane in the same season. An impressive record of 39 goals in 60 matches at under-18 level was not replicated in the second string, with Murphy mustering just seven strikes for Neil Banfield’s side. Loan spells at Brentford and, this season, Preston North End, did not yield much success but, if he can steer clear of injury, Murphy could still enjoy a decent career in the lower leagues.

Brislen-Hall is expected to continue his career in America with Colorado Rapids having made just a solitary appearance as an overage player in the under-18s for Arsenal this season. The left-back missed much of his first season as a scholar due to injury before an impressive 2010/11 campaign, which included a breakthrough into the Reserve side, forced the club to reverse their decision to release him. However, he hardly figured this season and is joined in departing by goalkeeper Sean McDermott, who never lived up to the reputation that preceded his move to the club.

McDermott joined Arsenal in a somewhat high-profile move from IK Vag in 2009, stating his ambitions to become the club’s number one goalkeeper, but struggled during his first season. Despite showing signs of improvement last campaign, his departure seemed inevitable after he was loaned out to Leeds United in April, with the Elland Road side a potential destination for the Norwegian stopper.

As far as the scholars are concerned, Monakana’s departure had been expected, with the right winger having trialled at various clubs in recent months. A good crosser of the ball, Monakana, who progressed through the club’s Hale End system, struggled to provide a regular goal threat. Campbell, meanwhile, did not shine enough during his scholarship to be granted a professional deal, but his associations with the club will remain as the left-back is a season-ticket holder at Emirates Stadium.

 

Patient Lansbury seeking promotion of a different kind

Although he did not make it onto the field on this occasion, Henri Lansbury experienced a familiar feeling at Wembley today as West Ham United returned to the Premier League with victory over Blackpool in the Championship play-off final. It is the third occasion on which Lansbury has been promoted, with the midfielder having previously helped Scunthorpe United into League One whilst also aiding Norwich City’s ascent to the Premier League last season.

His spell at West Ham has, perhaps, been the least successful of his four temporary stints away from the club, with the 21 year old also having spent time with Watford two seasons ago. Lansbury’s only goal for the club came on his debut against Portsmouth and, since then, he has struggled to command a regular place in Sam Allardyce’s side, making 23 appearances in total, many of which came as a substitute. 

Having achieved promotion for a third time in his fledgling career, the 21 year old will now be looking for an elevation of a different kind as he seeks to finally break into Arsene Wenger’s first-team squad at Arsenal. He has found that task considerably difficult thus far, with just three Premier League appearances to his name, two of which came last August, against Liverpool and Manchester United, when resources were extremely thin on the ground.

Lansbury has always been one of the standout young talents in Arsenal’s set up and has shown great battling qualities in overcoming glandular fever and working hard to rectify his previously prevalent attitude problems. Now, however, he has reached something of a crossroads in his career, whereby a concrete decision regarding his long-term future at the club will have to be made. Despite signing a contract extension earlier this season, Lansbury revealed recently that he will meet with Wenger for discussions shortly after his spell at West Ham concludes.

In the long term, with Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey to compete with, a first-team breakthrough does not seem especially likely for Lansbury, with the signs suggesting that the England under-21 international is most likely to depart for pastures new come the summer. Now well accustomed to Championship football, having had three separate loan spells in the division, Lansbury will be seeking to step up to the Premier League next campaign, although it seems unlikely that West Ham would offer him a permanent deal or even take him on loan again given his lack of starts this season. Fellow promoted clubs Reading and Southampton could be potential options, although, wherever he ends up, it is becoming increasingly likely that Lansbury’s time at Arsenal is drawing to a close.

 

Reserves head for Summer with future far from certain

Arsenal’s young professionals and scholars trained at London Colney today for the final time this season prior to their summer break, but when they return ahead of the 2012/13 campaign, much will have changed in the ensuing period.

It was announced this week that Steve Bould will be promoted from his post as under-18s coach to become Arsene Wenger’s assistant for the first-team, following the retirement of Pat Rice, whilst second-string coach Neil Banfield will also be moving into the first-team coaching set-up.

Who their respective replacements will be is currently uncertain, but there are also likely to be some alterations in playing staff over the summer, with several players out of contract next month. It has already been confirmed that defender Gavin Hoyte, who will turn 22 in June, will be departing, and he is likely to be joined in leaving the club by several others, with Sean McDermott, George Brislen-Hall and Jernade Meade all coming to the end of their current deals.

Furthermore, decisions will need to be made on the future of several of the club’s returning loanees. Henri Lansbury is still at West Ham United as he hopes to help the Hammers return to the Premier League via the play-offs, but, following that, he will return to London Colney to discuss his long-term Arsenal future with Arsene Wenger. Lansbury has struggled to impose himself at West Ham, but previously enjoyed successful stints at Scunthorpe, Watford and Norwich City. Others, like Rhys Murphy and Sanchez Watt, may have to finally accept that their time at Arsenal is coming to an end, whilst goalkeeper Damian Martinez, back from a short spell at Oxford, is set to be promoted to the first-team squad.

In terms of the season as a whole, the reserves eventually finished third in the table, behind Aston Villa and Fulham, but, despite the campaign concluding with a disappointing defeat to Everton last week, the season as a whole can be looked back upon positively, with several positives to be taken, such as the continued development of Oguzhan Ozyakup, and the fact that Nico Yennaris and Ignasi Miquel were called upon for the first-team in crucial Premier League games.

A new crop of youngsters have been gradually bedded into the set-up from the under-18s, with Martin Angha making more appearances than any other player at second-string level for the club, and the likes of Kyle Ebecilio, Zak Ansah, Josh Rees, Jordan Wynter and Philip Roberts demonstrating that, although they struggled to produce coherent performances as a unit at under-18 level, the scholarship intake of 2010 does contain some promising talents.

The second-string will be back in early July, by which time there will have been an announcement regarding who their coach will be for the new campaign.

Martinez misses out on play-offs but Arsenal chance still likely

Arsenal’s Argentinian goalkeeper Damian Martinez joined Oxford United on an emergency loan on Friday and was hopeful that he would play a role in inspiring the League Two side to reach the play-offs.

As it transpired, however, Martinez is already on course to return to Arsenal after conceding three times in Oxford’s defeat to Port Vale yesterday. The goalkeeper, who just three days earlier had turned in a superb performance for the Gunners’ second string against Everton, perhaps should have done better with some of the efforts, but, despite the negative outcome of his briefest of loan spells, he will no doubt benefit greatly from the experience of having trained with senior professionals.

As things stand, Martinez is likely to be involved, in some capacity at least, in Arsene Wenger’s first-team plans next season. The 19 year old established himself as the number one goalkeeper at Reserve level this season, dislodging James Shea, and was named on the bench for two senior fixtures, the victories over Shrewsbury Town and Leeds United in the Carling Cup and FA Cup respectively.

Wojciech Szczesny, despite some question marks beginning to rise over his recent performances, is firmly installed as Arsenal’s first choice goalkeeper, but, with the futures of fellow custodians Lukasz Fabianski, Vito Mannone and Manuel Almunia all uncertain, a gap is likely to open for Martinez to exploit.

Martinez started 12 of Arsenal’s 22 Reserve fixtures this season, and has previously been described by Wenger as “a very good goalkeeper”, having been invited by the Frenchman to train with the first-team on several occasions throughout the campaign. Calm and authoritative, and possessing a superb goal kick that has to be seen to be believed, Martinez is likely to become an increasingly familiar figure to Arsenal supporters over the coming seasons.

Reserves fail to end season on a high as they lose to Everton

Martinez

Angha-Boateng-Miquel-Meade

Ozyakup-Wynter

Rees-Eisfeld-Ebecilio

Roberts 

subs: Shea, Monteiro, Bellerin, Hayden, Neita.

Arsenal Reserves saw their season come to a close with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of their Everton counterparts at Underhill this evening.

A strike from the hugely promising Ross Barkley and a spot kick from Jose Baxter following a highly contentious penalty decision meant that Neil Banfield’s side suffered their first defeat since February. Despite this setback, however, when Banfield and his coaching staff come to assess this campaign as a whole, several positives will be able to be taken.

After a scrappy start, Everton carved out the game’s first meaningful opportunity when right-back Tyias Browning embarked on a superb run. His cross found Apostolos Vellios and the Greek striker, who has featured for the Everton first team this season, forced the first of several superb saves from Arsenal’s Argentinian goalkeeper Damian Martinez.

Much of Arsenal’s attacking momentum when it did occur came through the medium of Oguzhan Ozyakup, with the Dutch schemer manoeuvring his way past two Everton players with a stunning piece of skill before seeing his subsequent shot tipped wide of the post. The resultant corner was well cleared by Everton’s goalkeeper and captain Adam Davies, and Everton would take the lead shortly afterwards when a rapid break downfield saw Baxter feed Barkley who converted efficiently past a helpless Martinez.

Arsenal responded with a chance of their own, Philip Roberts, who spent much of the evening drifting to the left flank rather than operating as a nominal centre forward, nodding just wide after he was picked out by Ozyakup. Everton then doubled their advantage in extremely dubious circumstances. There appeared little doing when a corner was whipped into the Arsenal box, but the referee saw something that nobody else in the stadium appeared to and pointed to the spot, much to the bemusement of the players in red and white.

Martinez went the right way, but was unable to keep out Baxter’s well-struck effort. Arsenal’s defending, particularly in the opening period, was extremely sloppy in places, and on one occasion Martin Angha and Daniel Boateng contrived to concede possession, subsequently giving away a free kick which Martinez was equal to.

There appeared a renewed vigour about Arsenal in the second period, and they began brightly with Ozyakup having a free-kick well cleared, but yet more lacklustre defending allowed Vellios in on goal and Martinez, once again, was able to rectify the danger. Down the other end, Kyle Ebecilio found Jernade Meade with an instinctive flick and the left back managed to locate Thomas Eisfeld, who attempted the spectacular with an overhead kick but saw his effort go just wide.

Josh Rees, who had been largely isolated on the right flank, was beginning to come into the game and saw a shot blocked after a knock down from Ozyakup, but Everton still provided a considerable threat on the counter attack and Martinez had to be alert to race off his line and clear with his head with Barkley in close proximity.

Barkley then tried to replicate Luis Suarez with an effort from the halfway line, but narrowly missed the target, before, at the other end, the hardworking Roberts shot wide. A hashed clearance from Angha then presented Adam Forshaw with a chance, but Martinez continued to stand firm.

Eisfeld, who was pushed into a central striking role following the withdrawal of Roberts, was presented with several opportunities in the closing stages of the game, but the young German, in his luminous boots, couldn’t quite find the right connection he required.

Meade dragged a shot wide late on but, in truth, the most engaging aspect of the closing stages of the game was the pantomime villain status afforded to Baxter by the Underhill crowd after he was perceived to have gone down too easily following a challenge by Angha. The incident resulted in a fracas between both sets of players, but the fracas failed to shield the fact that Arsenal had been unable to take the opportunities that they had created in the second half.

Reserves ready to finish season against Everton

Arsenal Reserves will draw another season to a close tomorrow when they welcome their Everton counterparts to Barnet’s Underhill Stadium, and the young Gunners have, on the whole, enjoyed a largely impressive campaign, especially with regards to their recent form, having remained unbeaten since February.

Coach Neil Banfield will be hoping for a strong finish against the Toffees and will use the match as an opportunity to further ease midfielder Conor Henderson, who has missed much of the campaign through injury, back towards full fitness ahead of his proposed involvement in the first-team’s pre-season preparations in the summer.

Henderson was impressive against Newcastle last time out, demonstrating that he still possesses his renowned passing ability, and the 20 year old Republic of Ireland youth international will be desperate to make up for lost time. He, along with fellow creator-in-chief Oguzhan Ozyakup, will provide considerable danger for Everton tomorrow night, whilst Thomas Eisfeld is likely to pull on the Arsenal shirt in a home fixture for the first time.

Eisfeld was utilised in an experimental role as a centre forward against Newcastle, but is likely to operate deeper on this occasion, with Philip Roberts, who is yet to sign a professional contract, most likely to be tasked with spearheading the attack. The Reserve league title is now beyond Arsenal, with Aston Villa now a full five points clear, but the Gunners will still be looking for a strong finish to a campaign that has seen some 48 players, including several members of the first-team squad, called upon at various intervals.

Even thought they have not have a competitive fixture for almost a month, Arsenal have kept themselves occupied via the medium of several behind-closed doors friendlies recently which have also enabled fringe first-team players to maintain their fitness.

Zak Ansah and Jon Toral are ruled out of tomorrow’s game, whilst the likes of Benik Afobe and Nico Yennaris have returned from their loan spells but are ineligible to play for Arsenal as their contracts with their temporary clubs do not expire until May 31st.

Barnet have announced that they will continue to play at Underhill for one more season, meaning that this is unlikely to be the final Reserve fixture staged on this ground, but the game should still prove to be a memorable occasion, with Everton having finished third in the Northern Section and, like Arsenal, having given a good account of themselves at this level throughout the campaign.

 

Foreign imports left to reflect on impressive debut season

Arsenal under-18s may ultimately not have been able to secure the Premier Academy League title, but coach Steve Bould can still look back on a largely impressive campaign, with some of the most prominent positives coming in the form of the four youngsters acquired from abroad prior to the start of the campaign.

Having seen his side struggle for consistency during 2010/11, this season Bould’s boys have looked a more dynamic force and have been able to play Arsenal’s renowned passing style of football with much more regularity. Those aforementioned foreign youngsters have certainly helped in that regard by providing a sense of flair and creativity to complement the commendable work ethic of some of the club’s locally produced talents.

Serge Gnabry has particularly caught the eye and the young German has even been touted in some corners for a Carling Cup call up next season such has been his dazzling impact in his maiden campaign at the club. Able to operate in a variety of attacking midfield positions, Gnabry’s delicacy of touch and skilfulness have won him many admirers, with the player, who is still, somewhat remarkably, just 16 years old, making the step up to the second string with considerable ease.

The two boys from Barcelona, Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral, have also enjoyed some promising moments. Bellerin has tended to operate more frequently as a right back, and some of his performances have indicated that the defensive side of his game still requires some fine-tuning, but he is steadily improving in that regard, whilst, in an attacking sense, his regular forays down the right flank have caused problems for opposition defences up and down the country. Toral, meanwhile, has not been seen of late after his season was ended prematurely by injury, but the cultured midfielder should be fully fit in time for pre-season and, during his appearances for the club thus far, has demonstrated his potential by being engaged in some neat passing moves.

Another midfielder, young Swede Kristoffer Olsson, has also acclimatised well to English football, although he does perhaps still need to bulk up a little physically. In terms of technique, however, he has little to learn, as demonstrated by his plethora of assists this season. One problem that all four players have had to contend with this season has been the fact that they have been frequently called up by their respective countries, which, whilst providing them with additional beneficial experience, has also had a detrimental effect in that they perhaps haven’t turned out at club level quite as often as they would have liked.

Nonetheless, all four players appear, on the evidence of their first seasons at the club, well equipped for a positive future in the game and, hopefully, at least one of them will proceed to become an important player for Arsenal in the future.

 

FIFA Street review

A somewhat belated review of the new instalment in EA Sports’ FIFA Street series… (PS3)

The initial FIFA Street series contained some enjoyable enough games without being too groundbreaking, but could justifiably be accused of being too arcade-like in nature, which is perhaps why EA Sports decided to start afresh with this title, not referring to it as FIFA Street 4, but simply FIFA Street.

The game contains much the same premise as the previous editions, with the focus on small-sided matches where, depending on the game mode being played, skills can be of integral importance. In the ‘Panna’ mode for example, the key is to build up as many intricate moves as possible before finding the net and claiming a vast number of points, but the adverse aspect of this is that, if it is your opponent who scores first, then they reap the benefits regardless of how many moves they were involved in.

A wide range of teams from Europe’s top leagues, in addition to plenty of unlockable sides, such as the ‘Euro All Stars’, ensures that there is much choice and replay value, although the squad lists for each team are considerably cropped, whilst another minor frustration is that there are no options to make substitutes during the course of the, admittedly short, game.

One particular highlight of this title is the brand new ‘Last Man Standing’ mode which is pretty self explanatory in that two teams take eachother on in a 5-a-side game, with players having to leave the field once they have found the net. The trick here is to try and ensure that your most clinical players remain on the pitch the longest, meaning that you are likely to be better placed in the event of a 1-on-1 showdown.

The old days of using the L1 and Triangle buttons to navigate past opponents with ease are long gone, and users will have to take some time to master the vast array of different moves on offer. Using the same engine as FIFA 12, the game provides a shorter, sharper alternative to the main series and, initially at least, can prove more enjoyable due to its compact nature.

The main aspect of the game is the World Tour mode, a career mode in which you commence with a side playing down the local park and, by beating opponents along the way, take the opportunity to effectively steal their best players and add them to your line up, much in the manner of previous versions. This mode can be seen as rather long winded, due to the time in which it takes to fully complete it, but it is worth prevailing for the satisfaction garnered by ending up with a star-studded line-up that is of complete contrast to the side that you started out with.

In all, the new FIFA Street is a worthy purchase, and provides an enjoyable alternative to FIFA 12. It is much preferable, however, to play against a friend if possible, as this is where the competitive nature of the skill-based game comes to the fore. Playing alone, in contrast, can cause you to lose interest at times as the game becomes rather repetitive, but, on the whole, the range on new innovations mean that this is an enjoyable encounter.