Loan watch: Simpson features in Millwall victory

Seven young Arsenal players are on loan at other clubs in order to gain experience. They are Mark Randall and Kieran Gibbs, who are at Burnley and Norwich respictively, Jay Simpson is with Millwall whilst Fran Merida, Carlos Vela and Pedro Silva are all in Spain with Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Salamanca. Vincent van den Berg is with Go Ahead Eagles. Keep up to date on their progress here…

Jay Simpson- Millwall 2 Southend United 1

Jay Simpson played 90 minutes as Millwall defeated Southend to climb out of the relegation zone. Southend took the lead through former Barnet man Nick Bailey on nine minutes, but Gary Alexander pulled one back for Milllwall just before the break. The Lions then went ahead thanks to David Martin’s 54th minute effort.

Mark Randall- QPR 2 Burnley4

Mark Randall was a last minute substitute as Burnley came from behind to win 4-2 against QPR. Randall came on for former Arsenal striker Andy Cole and it was Cole’s hat-trick that secured the game for the Clarets. Former Gunner Matthew Connolly was in action for QPR, who took the lead through Gavin Mahon on fourteen minutes, before a Patrick Ayegmang strike doubled Rangers’ advantage with half an hour gone. Burnley pulled one back through Andy Cole just before the break and Cole notched again in the second half to bring the Clarets level. With 13 minutes left, substitute Ade Akinbiyi scored to turn the game in Burnley’s favour before Cole notched with just four minutes left to secure the victory and his hat-trick. Former Arsenal youngster John Spicer also made a last minute sub appearance for the visitors. Burnley have now moved up to the play off positions thanks to this win.

Kieran Gibbs- Norwich 1 Hull City 1

Kieran Gibbs played 58 minutes on his Norwich debut as the Canaries were held to a 1-1 draw by Hull City . Gibbs made some lively runs before being taken off for Matthew Pattison. Dion Dublin scored the opener for Norwich on nineteen minutes, but it was cancelled out by Manchester United loanee Frazier Campbell’s 53rd minute strike.

Loanees preview: Gibbs to start

 Seven young Arsenal players are on loan at other clubs in order to gain experience. They are Mark Randall and Kieran Gibbs, who are at Burnley and Norwich respictively, Jay Simpson is with Millwall whilst Fran Merida, Carlos Vela and Pedro Silva are all in Spain with Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Salamanca. Vincent van den Berg is with Go Ahead Eagles. Keep up to date on their progress here…

Three youngsters are in action tonight:

 Update: Kieran Gibbs starts, it seems like Roeder has responded to the masses. Simpson also starts for Millwall and Mark Randall is on the bench for Burnley.

Jay Simpson- Millwall v Southend UnitedJay Simpson should start as Millwall look to get out of the relegation zone.

Mark Randall- QPR v Burnley

Mark Randall will be hoping to make his third Burnley appearance, whilst ex-Gunner Matthew Connolly could also feature in this one. Match preview

Kieran Gibbs- Norwich v Hull

Kieran is still waiting for his Norwich debut, but could be involved for this game with Hull at Carrow Road. Match preview

One of the reasons why he hasn’t been playing for Norwich is because there are rules that state you are only allowed to name five loan players in your matchday squad, and Norwich currently have seven.

Glen Roeder also talked about the Gibbs situation, saying

Kieran Gibbs is a very good player. We’ve seen him on the training ground and he was very good for England last week. But so are the other loan players. I think there is too much expectation, I don’t know if it is because he’s an Arsenal player. He’s just like the others, he’s a very talented young player. He just happens to come from Arsenal who have the best recruitment in the world and he’s just one that has lifted the standards here and he’s shown our young players where they need to be at 18.

Player Profile: Charlie Mann

Charlie is a goalkeeper who plays for Arsenal u-16s and has been likened by some to Manchester City ‘keeper Kasper Schmieichel. It’s easy to see why as they both have blonde hair, but the comparisons don’t end there. Not only is he quick and agile, but also he is a great one-on-one shot stopper. He occasionally trains with the u-18s at the training ground before matches and, at just fourteen years of age, is already taller than James Shea. With Shea set to be the regular u-18s keeper next season, Charlie should take over his berth of no.1 for the u-16s and may even play a few games for the u-18s as well. He has been at Arsenal since a young age and has played with the likes of Benik Afobe and Chucks Aneke for five to six years. He has a good understanding with his team-mates and decent kicking ability, so watch out for him in the future.