Randall and Gibbs go on loan

It’s transfer deadline day and Mark Randall and Kieran Gibbs have both joined Championship sides on loan.

Randall will spend the second half of the season at Turf Moor, with Burnley, who he scored against in the FA Youth Cup 3rd Round.

Gibbs has  joined Norwich City  until the end of the season. Gibbs, who has featured for the first-team in the Carling Cup this season will gain valuable experience from this move.

Obviously it will be good experience for the lads and also it will leave a gap in our Reserve team. It will allow some of the younger lads to push on and see whether they can stake a claim in the Reserves. For me, Randall’s loan spell was long overdue. He needs to show that he isn’t just an ordinary player and he can prove that by playing week in, week out for Burnley, which I’m sure he will. As for Gibbs, it will be interesting to see how he does and if he can force his way into Arsene Wenger’s thinking when he returns.

There’s still time for more transfers to be completed, so watch this space.

In other news, Emmanuel Frimpong and Oliver Nicholas have been named in the latest England u-16 squad. They’ve both recently agreed scholarship deals and look like decent prospects.

Thanks for reading, and there will be more tomorrow.

Bould hopes for ‘happier times ahead’ in the Cup

So, last night’s nights result wasn’t exactly as hoped, but the performance wasn’t a total letdown. For instance, Wojciech Szczesny played well in goal and Rene Steer whipped in some decent crosses, whilst Kieran Gibbs came close with a couple of efforts. Unfortunately for Szczesny, after he made a fantastic save the ball found it’s way to Steven Irwin whose shot deflected off Rene Steer’s arm into the back of the net.

On the other hand, some of the defending was poor but it has to be said Liverpool had attacking flair in abundance, with the likes of David Amoo and Martin Pourie constant threats.

Randall, Barazite and Watt squandered further chances before Szczesny made another excellent save down to his right. Then Arsenal’s misery was capped off with James Dunne’s dismissal eleven minutes from time.

Afterwards Steve Bould admitted that his side could have played better and that James Dunne’s sending off wasn’t the cleverest thing in the world. He also acknowledged that this was many of the lads’ last chance to win the Youth Cup but stated that he feels the next crop of kids have the potential to be even better. Only time will tell if the likes of Freeman and co. fulfil it.

Youth Cup dreams up in flames

Arsenal’s hopes of winning the 2008 FA Youth Cup, a competition they came so close to winning last season went up in flames as they lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.

In truth, it was always going to be a tough task. Missing the likes of Henri Lansbury and Jack Wilshere in midfield, it was hard to see where Arsenal’s opportunities were going to come from. Nacer Barazite’s return was a boost, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

In the first-half, the Gunners came close through Gilles Sunu and Gavin Hoyte, but they were both denied by Liverpool ‘keeper Dean Bouzanis.

Arsenal kept going forward but struggled to create chances and in the end they were made to pay when Steve Irwin’s deflected effort found the back of the net.

Arsenal could have gone even further behind.Liverpool’s David Amoo was a constant threat making bombing runs and dinking in shots from various angles, one such effort hit Szczesny and bounced off Rodgers and on to the crossbar, luckily Gavin Hoyte was on hand to mop up.

Steve Bould tried to change things by bringing on Jay Thomas and Thomas Cruise, but in the end it was a step too far for Arsenal’s young guns.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Ogogo, Steer (Cruise) , Dunne, Hoyte, Rodgers, Watts, Randall, Sunu (Thomas 71), Barazite, Gibbs. Unused subs: Shea, Nordtveit, Bartley.

Have the u-18s got what it takes?

So now we have it. A face-off between two of the best academies in the country in the Fourth round of the FA Youth Cup. Arsenal came so close to meeting Liverpool in last season’s competiton but were denied by a late Manchester United goal in the semi-final at Old Trafford. Now they finally go head to head at Anfield tonight.

Liverpool’s youth squad is very different to the side that has won the last two competitions back to back. There are lots of younger lads in their academy now, but they are no less talented. The likes of striker David Amoo for example, cannot be ignored. And then there is the fact that Liverpool have home advantage and there’s sure to be a few of their supporters in the ground cheering them on. Even at this level, the prospect of playing at Anfield is very daunting indeed.

On the Arsenal side of things, it seems we are without Henri Lansbury, who has a glandular problem. Also Rui Fonte is out for three weeks with a broken nose, and Jack Wilshere is out too. On the plus side, we should see Nacer Barazite back, but the absence of Lansbury is key. Not only did he score a hat-trick in the last round but many of our passing moves flow through him and he is difficult to close down.

Paul Rodgers says the entire squad wanted to draw Liverpool, which says something about the immense self-belief and determination of the lads.

On the transfer front, rumours persist about Edin Dzeko, whilst it also appears that we are considering the option of QPR youth ‘keeper Liam O’Brien, who played for the u-18s on Saturday. Luke Freeman and Sam Byles also made their debuts in that game.

So, with kick-off nearing all we can do is hope for a result and it’s hard to predict an Arsenal win, but anything is possible in football.

Transfer rumours and speculation as attention turns to Anfield

 

Picture from: SkySports

There’s been a lot of news concerning transfers today with only three days left before the transfer window shuts. One player that we have been linked with is Edin Dzeko, who was reccomended by first-team coach Boro Primorac. He’s twenty-one, he’s a striker and he’s likely to cost a lot of money, so it’s difficult to see it happening. However, with the squad short on numbers at the moment, Wenger may be tempted to buy, but given his reluctance to spend big cash on players, the chances of this deal taking place are minimal.

Another player we have been linked with is Piet Velthuizen.  He’s also 21 years old and he’s a Dutch goalkeeper. With Fabianski roughly the same age and Mannone waiting in the wings, it’s unlikely to happen although he could join in the summer.

There’s also speculation about players leaving the club, and Norwich boss Glen Roeder says that he has first refusal on an Arsenal youngster, which is believed to be Armand Traore. This story broke earlier this month and whilst it could be him, Mark Randall could be a possibility to go there as well.

The u-18s travel to Anfield tomorrow to take on Liverpool in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup. This is going to be a real test of character for the lads and it’s difficult to predict anything other than a Liverpool win, but we beat Man.Utd last year, so who knows what to expect. As I have mentioned before, this is a fantastic chance to win the Youth Cup for us because if we get through, we have Sunderland in the next round and Man.Utd are already out of the competition, although Chelsea are still a threat. The u-18s are in poor form going into this game, having lost against Portsmouth last week, and then again to Ipswich on Saturday. But this is the Cup, and League form counts for nothing. At least we have Barazite back from injury and hopefully Lansbury and Gibbs will feature too.

Check how the youngsters out on loan got on this weekend. There’s more on Carlos Vela here.

Thanks for reading and there’ll be more tomorrow including a full preview of the Liverpool match.

Simpson shows his class

Good morning.

Well, after watching the FA Cup highlights last night, Jay Simpson stood out again as he was on target once more for Millwall against Coventry. He definitely has an eye for goal and it will be interesting to see what Wenger does with him come the end of the season as he is clearly a very talented player. However, there are quite a few decent strikers at the club at the moment so he may find games hard to come by.

Carlos Vela was also in action last night as he played 84 minutes for Osasuna.

The u-18s succumbed to their second consecutive defeat (and their second against Ipswich this season) at London Colney yesterday morning. Goals from Kyle Bartley and Emmanuel Frimpong weren’t enough, but to be fair the players minds were probably more focussed on the task ahead at Anfield, rather than the game in hand.

Thanks for reading.

Watt and Bartley called up, Freeman to make debut?

The u-18s take on Ipswich this morning at London Colney, and there’s speculation that Luke Freeman could make his debut, although he is likely to start on the bench.

Sanchez Watt and Kyle Bartley have been named in the England u-17 squad for the forthcoming Algarve tournament.

It’s good to see some of our youngsters representing the Three Lions at Youth level and maybe in a few years, we will have some more full England internationals in the first-team squad.

Right, I’m off to watch Arsenal v Newcastle in the FA Cup.

Thanks for reading.

U-18s look to get back to winning ways

Arsenal u-18s take on Ipswich Town at London Colney hoping to get back to winning ways after their defeat to Portsmouth last week. To be honest, they were very unlucky not to win although the performance was pretty flat but hopefully it’ll be a stronger team out there tomorrow. I have to say that Anton Blackwood has done well in the couple of games he has played so far and has a real attacking flair, so watch out for him.

Theo Walcott will not be going on loan after all. It shows Wenger he has faith in him and is still very much in his plans.

Tresor Mputu played against Arsenal reserves yesterday in a friendly as Wenger ran the rule over him. He apparently blew his chance, but we’re signing Freeman anyway so he shouldn’t be worried about signing another striker.

Thanks for reading. More tomorrow.

Freeman deal close to completion

Well, firstly it seems that the deal to sign Luke Freeman is close to completion. Although I’ve never seen him play myself, I’ve read some rave reviews about him and he seems like a fascinating addition to the club.

Arséne Wenger has reportedly said that he wants to send Theo Walcott out on loan, preferably to a Premiership club. It’s clear that he needs a loan spell but he should only go somewhere where he’s guaranteed to play every game. Stoke City are interested but to be honest he probably won’t go there. 

Havard Nordtveit talks about his injury problems. I think he was our best player in the match against Birmingham on Monday and he’s not afraid to make tackles. Hopefully, that’s the end of his injuries.

Nacer Barazite has been named in the latest Dutch u-19 squad.

Now for some information on a couple of the loanees. Jay Simpson scored for Millwall last night and Carlos Vela has seen his stock rise in Spain because of his goal last weekend. Osasuna’s game is live on Sky this weekend, so it’ll be worth watching just to see how he gets on.

Three reserve fixtures have been re-arranged for April.

Finally, the u-18s play Ipswich at London Colney on Saturday. I would love to be going to this game but I’m going to the FA Cup tie against Newcastle at Emirates instead.

Thanks for reading and there’ll be more tomorrow.

Proof of how hard it is to make it Arsenal

Well, let’s forget about last night (if we can) and move on. He should have started Adebayor from the beginning though.
Anyway, today I am going to prove how difficult it is for young players to make it at Arsenal.

Below I have listed all the first-year scholars from 2001-2005 and I’m sure you will be suprised at how many are still at the club. Players in red are still contracted to the club.

2001-

Brett Freeman

Justin Hoyte

Alfie Kamara

Ashley Probets

Stephen Bradley

Jordan Fowler

Sam Kanu

Sebastian Larsson

Wayne O’Sullivan

Adam Birchall

Michael Gordon

Dean Shiels

2002-

Michael Jordan

Sam Oji
Hassan Sulaiman
Dorian Small
Marcus Artry
Patrick Cregg
Inji Hosted
Neil Kilkenny
Stephen O’Donnell
Dean McDonald

2003-
Mark Howard
Chris Wright
Issa Abdul Kadir
Shaun Clohessy
Kerrea Gilbert
Matthew Hislop
Billy Nott
Ryan Smith
Daniel Spaul
Luke Webb
Aaron Samuel

2004-
Nicklas Bendtner
Matthew Connolly
Ben Gill
Sean Kelly
Arturo Lupoli
Fabrice Muamba
Mitchell Murphy
Dominic Shimmin
Anthony Stokes

2005-

Jay Simpson
Marc Elston
Giorgios Efrem
Lee Butcher
Shane Tracy

As you can see there are many unfamiliar names on that list and only Justin Hoyte, Kerrea Gilbert, Nicklas Bendtner and Jay Simpson are still at Arsenal, and Bendtner is, in my opinion, the only one who has a chance to be a first-team regular. However, if you look at our current Academy first-year scholars, then it is probably our best ever with the likes of Lansbury, Murphy and Sunu, but it remains to be seen whether they will make it or not.