Posted by Jeorge Bird on January 16, 2008
We’ve already looked at some top quality youngsters. But, in the fourth and final part of the series, I discuss two exceptional talents who are already very close to the first team.
Firstly, I am going to look at Mark Randall. Mark has been the talk of the Academy for a couple of years now and has been involved in the Carling Cup with the first-team. Much like Lee Sawyer of Chelsea, he isn’t afraid to shoot from distance and has scored a couple of thunderbolts for the u-18s. Many people see him as just an ordinary player who is nothing special, but if you look a little closer, then you will notice the diminutive little runs that he makes off the ball to fool the defenders, or the single touch that can help to set up a goal. Randall is a team player, and has drawn praise from his team-mates because of this. He scores quite often for the u-18s, although he is also slightly injury prone and often picks up knocks which can keep him out for a good couple of weeks. He has a good chance of making it here as Wenger rates him highly and also he is versatile, as he can also play on both wings as well as in the middle.
Finally, Havard Nordtveit arrived at the club in the summer after Arsenal had fought off interest from the likes of Manchester United and AC Milan for the talented young Norweigan. He started off very well and was like a breath of fresh air for the Reserve team in the early part of the season, combining attacking flair with no-nonsense defending, scoring against Birmingham. However, it was a heart-in-mouth moment for Havard as, towards the end of that match, he picked up an injury that ruled him out for half the season. It was disapointing because he started so well, but a lot will be made of how he comes back and responds. His first objective will be to get back into the Reserve team at the expense of either Gavin Hoyte or Paul Rodgers, and then he will take things from there.
This entry was posted on January 16, 2008 at 6:52 am and is filed under General.
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Nathan said
You didn’t mention Fran Merida who seems to be one of the brightest player in the reserve team. So what about him ?
Joshua said
I could see Randall make it, he has the kind of qualities wenger likes in a player
BC said
Could someone give me a full list with all the players of the Reserves Team?
Cookie said
BC, arsenal.com will help you.
Jeorge, thanx! I hope you’ll continue your articles about club’s youth.
Lou said
Thanks again, very good series!\
Off topic, but kind of related – Chris Coleman has just resigned from Real Sociedad. Not sure if Fran could still get opportunities to play there.
jazbo said
What about Carlos Vella he looks to be a future first teamer
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Nathan said
Check out Arsenal website. You can find the full list of reserve players and reserve fixture reports.
Fran’s move was directly linked with Inaki Badiola (Sociedad chairman). I don’t know if that was a request made by Coleman but I think Badiola will put some pressure on the new manager as Fran was an election promise (if he stays on the bench).