Sam Byles out to prove the critics wrong

Arsenal youngster Sam Byles has had his fair share of criticism already, some of it even aimed at him by Arsenal supporters, but now he is determined to prove them wrong and show what he can do.

An England u-16 international, he was recently called up to the u-17 side for this summer’s Nordic Tournament. However, he is expected to be second choice right-back behind former Gunner Keanu Marsh-Brown. Many have stated that Keanu is a class above Sam at that level and I agree with them to an extent.

However, those that have seen Sam play will know that he is a determined and committed player who fights for every ball.  He has signed a scholarship this summer and joined the Academy full time. He looks set to play second fiddle to Anton Blackwood next season in the under-18s, but he is a year younger than him so that is expected.

Next season will be a big one for Sam as he will be playing in front of a larger crowd and with more well-known players. Also the opponents in the under-18s league are much stronger physically than the under-16s with some sides even exploiting the rule allowing them to use over-aged players.

Craig Eastmond could be used more as a midfielder next season, whilst the likes of Abu Ogogo and Kerrea Gilbert are set to be released this summer. Chances could open up for Sam, it’s up to him to take them.

New Arsenal scholars ready to shine

Another year, another batch of Arsenal scholars. But these players are ready to prove that they are better than last year’s intake by claiming the under-18 Academy League trophy. Many of the players have already featured at under-18s level for the Gunners, with Jack Wilshere and Cedric Evina even featuring in the reserves. But now the hard work begins as they are officially part of the Arsenal Academy and will have their every move scrutinised by the Arsenal coaches as they attempt to fulfil their dreams of becoming professional footballers. Read on to learn more about the class of 2008.

Most people reading this will probably already heard a lot about Jack Wilshere already, after his exhilirating  performance for the reserves against West Ham. If you haven’t seen the highlights, you can watch them here. He scored 13 goals last season for the under-18s whilst still a schoolboy, is highly rated by Arsene Wenger and is training with the first team so there’s no doubt that he will be one of the first to go professional from this set of players. He primarily operates as a central midfielder although he has also been used out on the wing or behind a lone striker.

Frenchman Cedric Evina first played under-18s football when he was still eligible to play for the under-14s, so he won’t need any time to adapt. Previously a left-winger, he was used mainly as a left-back last campaign although he made his debut for the reserves against Birmingham as a striker. Next season should see him establish himself as no.1 left back for the under-18s and make more appearances in the reserves.

Powerhouse midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong impressed in the under-18s last season and proved a real threat from free-kicks. He still needs to learn to control his temper but that will improve as he gets older. With several of the older players set to be released this summer, Emmanuel could get his big break and may even turn out regularly for the reserves. He is also an England Youth international.

Centre-back Oliver Nicholas made one appearance for the under-18s last season, against West Ham. He formed a solid partnership at the heart of the under-16s defence alongside fellow new scholar Rhema Obed. Strong, tall and muscular, Oliver is also an England Youth international and is set for a key role in the Arsenal under-18s next season.

A few eyebrows were raised when Sam Byles was offered scholarship terms in January. The right-back has been overshadowed at youth level for England by former Gunner Keanu Marsh-Brown. However, Arsenal showed their faith in him and Sam will battle with Anton Blackwood to become Steve Bould’s no.1 right-back next term.

Conor Henderson impressed in the second half of the season for the under-18s with strong tackling skills and good passing ability. A midfielder, he can play centrally but is usually deployed as a winger. Popular with his team-mates, Conor will be hoping to get further chances at under-18 level next season.

Now for two home-grown players who are yet to make an appearance for the under-18s.

Winger Roarie Deacon (left) impressed in the under-16s last season with his work rate and long balls. He has been at the Academy for several years and will be looking to step up to the under-18s next season.

Centre-back Rhema (right) has been capped by England at under-16 level. He impressed at the back for the under-16s last season alongside Oliver Nicholas and possesses good tackling and ball control skills.

As well as the home-grown players, there are also three youngsters who have been signed from other clubs.

Striker Luke Freeman signed for Arsenal from Gillingham last January for £200,000. A lot was made of his arrival but after a promising start, he faded towards the end of the campaign. Nonetheless, the England u-16 player will be looking to prove himself to Steve Bould and the other Arsenal coaches in the new campaign. He has already made his debut for the reserves.

Dutch under-17 international Oghuzan Ozyakup completed his transfer to Arsenal from AZ Alkmaar recently. A central-midfielder, he will link up with the club when he turns 16 in September.

Central defender Ignasi joined Arsenal from UD Cornella in February 2008. The Spaniard is 193cm tall and can also play at left-back. He will join up with the squad when he turns 16 in October.

Under-18s Fixture list announced

The fixture list for the 2008/09 under-18s season has been announced. Like last season, the Gunners will start with a home fixture, this time against Everton on August 23rd which could see the likes of Moses Barnett and Kieran Agard return to play their former club. After that, Bould’s side will travel to face Wolves. The two fixtures against Chelsea are on October 4th (H) and March 7th (A), whilst in a change from last season a North London Derby will take place against Tottenham at London Colney on April 25th. The Spurs game is Arsenal’s penultimate fixture, before they round off the campaign with a trip to face Cardiff City.

You can view the full list of fixtures here.

Justin Hoyte on Ramsey, Boreham Wood friendly announced

A couple of pieces of news today.

Firstly, Arsenal full-back and academy graduate Justin Hoyte has been talking to Arsenal TV Online in an interesting interview.

He was asked several questions, including one about new signing Aaron Ramsey. This is what he had to say

I’m sure he has great potential and could go on to be a great signing for the club.

He also went on to talk about how being a young side helps team morale

We’re at a similar age and I think that works in our favour as well.

Justin has been linked with a move to Aston Villa in recent months, but has played it down as mere speculation.

It’s just speculation. I’ve not heard anything, it’s just rumours like you hear every day. I’m an Arsenal player, I’m contracted to Arsenal so as far as I know I’m still at the club.

Arsenal will again travel to Austria for a training camp and will play friendlies against Szombathelyi and a Burgenland XI. Justin admits that the camp helps the team to get to know eachother better and stands them in good stead for the rest of the season.

It’s a very tough training camp. But that’s where you show the boss what you’re capable of doing, how fit you are and how ready you are for the season.

Several youngsters could be taken on the trip this year and it will be a fantastic experience for them.

Picture from Boreham Wood official site

In other news an Arsenal XI will take on Boreham Wood in a friendly in August as part of the on-going relationship between the clubs which sees Arsenal Ladies play their home games at Meadow Park. The following statement on Arsenal.com confirmed that it is not a first-team fixture.

However, whatever the day the first team play in the UEFA Champions League, the Club would like to stress that the Arsenal side playing at Boreham Wood will consist of Reserve and Academy players.

The match will be screened on Arsenal TV.

Finally, congratulations to Theo Walcott who will wear the no.14 shirt next season.

Hectic schedule ahead for Gibbs

Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs is likely to be representing England at next month’s UEFA u-19 Championships in the Czech Republic. Here we check out his schedule for the next month:

Sun. Jun 29- Squad gather for pre-tournament training.

Tue. Jul 8- Squad fly to Czech Republic for tournament.

Mon. Jul 14- Czech Rep. v England

Thu. Jul 17- England v Italy

Sun. Jul 20- England v Greece

Wed. Jul 23- Semi-final

Sat. Jul 26- Final

Kieran’s involvement will mean that he is likely to miss many of the first-team friendlies, including the Emirates Cup due to fatigue. However, he is still set to part of Arsene Wenger’s pre-season plans next campaign.

Ben Arfa paves the way for Nasri, battle for Derdiyok hots up

With Euro 2008 during to a close, the transfer speculation is hotting up again.

The Nasri situation is becoming increasingly frustrating now. It looks inevitable that we are going to sign him, it’s just a question of when it will be officially announced.

Reported target Hatem Ben Arfa has agreed to join Marseille, subject to a medical. He’s a decent player and would suit our style of play well but if when Nasri joins we wont regret missing out on the chance to sign him.

Newcastle have joined the chase for 20 year old Eren Derdiyok, a player we were linked to before Euro 2008. He didn’t exactly set the place alight during the tournament, but his performances will have increased his value a little bit. He is an option, but is unlikely to sign as we have several promising young forwards at the club.

Finally, the site will be going through some changes in the next few weeks, particulary in regard to the ‘player’ pages (Young Pros etc) so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Kyle Bartley looks to put his injury problems behind him

After a stop-start first season at Arsenal, Kyle Bartley will be looking to put things right in 2008/2009.

The tall centre-back joined from Bolton Wanderers last summer on a scholarship deal after the Gunners beat off competition from Manchester City to sign him.

However, injuries took their toll and he subsequently missed the first two months of the campaign. Nonetheless, he made his under-18s debut against Portsmouth and helped to keep a clean sheet and was beginning to enjoy a regular run in the side until he found himself struck down by injury again.

A strong character, he fought back to gain full fitness and made his reserves debut at home to Fulham, starting alongside Paul Rodgers at the heart of the defence. The Gunners lost 2-0 that day, but Bartley had made a significant step into the second string. He only made one further appearance for Neil Banfield’s side last season, in the 1-1 draw away to Reading.

Back with the under-18s though, he was enjoying his football and ended the season scoring once from 11 appearances. His goal was a tremendous piece of individual play in a rollercoaster of a game against Ipswich Town. There were some lowlights as well though. One particular moment that springs to mind is the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in March, where Bartley was sent off for a rash challenge which cost Arsenal the game.

He needs to cut out the reckless challenges if he is to get anywhere, but next season will be a fresh start for Kyle. He is now well settled in to his surroundings at London Colney and is one of the more highly-regarded prospects at the club. Regular reserve football should do him good next season, and perhaps a Carling Cup chance will follow the season after. One thing’s for certain though, if he wants to acheive his life-long dream of being a Premier League footballer, then he will have more luck with injuries in the future.

Nasri deal finally done?

It seems as if Arsenal have finally completed the signing of French international Samir Nasri from Marseille, with SkySports reporting that he has signed a four year deal. Earlier, Setanta claimed that the player himself had admitted that the move has been completed. The BBC have now confirmed it as well, using the player’s website as a source, but Arsenal.com haven’t announced anything yet.

Three years of hard work pays off for Vito Mannone

Vito Mannone joined Arsenal in the summer of 2005 from Atalanta as a promising young ‘keeper who was prone to occasional mistakes. Three years on and he is now Arsenal’s third choice goalie and has been rewarded with a place in the first team squad.

After some impressive performances during his debut season for the under-18s, Vito joined Barnsley on loan at the start of the 2006/2007 campaign. However, his time at the Owls didn’t provide many happy memories for the Italian. After playing second fiddle to Nick Colgan in his first few games, Vito got his chance against Luton but a mistake in that game which led to Luton scoring the winner.

He returned to Arsenal and after a spell out injured, he began to establish himself as the reserves’ no.1. He had become more calm and composed and his grasp of the English language meant that he could pass on information to his team-mates more easily. There were still occasional mistakes, but all goalkeepers are inclined to make a few errors, especially during the early stages of their career.

Last season was a big one for Vito. Not only did he feature on the bench for first-team fixtures in the Carling Cup and Premier League, but he also done enough in the reserves to convince Arsene Wenger that he is good enough for the first-team.

After spending time on trial at Gretna ahead of a possible loan move there  last summer, Vito decided to return to Arsenal instead. It was the best decision of his fledgling career so far. Vito made 14 appearances for the second string last campaign, keeping five clean sheets. The best moment of 2007/2008 for Vito was away to Reading, where he saved a last minute penalty from Shane Long to earn Arsenal a draw.

Next season could see him make his first-team debut in the Carling Cup, although Lukasz Fabianski is set to continue in that competition next season. Although Vito is now part of the first team squad, we will still be following the progress he makes at the club.

Vito will take the no.24 shirt next season, taking over from Manuel Almunia who has been promoted to no.1 New signing Aaron Ramsey will wear no.16, whilst Carlos Vela takes the no.12 jersey.

Arsenal’s Oliver Nicholas ready to shine

New Arsenal scholar Oliver Nicholas already has a taste of under-18s football and is determined to make the centre-back position his own for Steve Bould’s side next season.

In 2007/2008, Oliver formed a formidable partnership with Rhema Obed at the heart of the defence for the under-16s. His tough-tackling, no-nonsense displays earned him rave reviews and now he will be looking to replicate that form for the under-18s.

He made his debut at under-18s level last season during a 6-1 demolition of West Ham United. He may only have been a late substitute but that performance will stand him in good stead for next season.

Oliver is an England youth international and although he missed much of the Montaigu Tournament earlier this year through injury, he has made the breakthrough to the under-17s and is in the squad for the Nordic Tournament.

Some people have criticised him for losing  his cool during matches, but maturity will come with age and, if he continues his impressive performances, so will higher accolades.