NORDIC TOURNAMENT 2008
Jason Banton, Chuks Aneke, Oliver Nicholas, Luke Freeman- England 0 Norway 0
All four Arsenal youngsters were involved as England under-17s were held to a goalless draw by Norway in their final group stage match of this summer’s Nordic Tournament. After 1-0 victories over Finland and Iceland in this game, England were confident going into this fixture but in the end they couldn’t break down a stiff Turkey defence. Things were made even more difficult when Billy Knott was dismissed for a second yellow card. Oliver Nicholas once again played the whole game but this time the captain’s armband was handed to James Hurst instead. Chuks Aneke also completed the entire match whilst Luke Freeman was replaced by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on 68 minutes. Striker Jason Banton replaced Theo Walcott’s relative Jacob on 75 minutes. The two sides both finished with seven points, but Norway top the group because of their superior goal-scoring record. England no longer have a chance of winning the competition and will have to make do with a 3rd/4th place play-off game with Denmark on Saturday.
Francis Coquelin, Gilles Sunu- French u-18s training camp
Arsenal youngsters Francis Coquelin and Gilles Sunu have been selected for a French under-18s training camp which will take place at the National Football Centre of Clairefontaine and will run from August 25-28. This year’s French u-18s side is mainly made up of the players that featured in the UEFA u-17 European Championships in May. Coquelin is currently injured as a result of a knock which he picked up on the pre-season tour of Austria and Hungary, but should be fit enough to attend. Their inclusion means that they will be ruled out of the under-18s game against Wolves on August 30 but may be back in time for the first reserve game of the season, at home to Chelsea on September 1st.
Posted by Claude on July 31, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Nice work Jeorge keeping up with the Nordic tournament. It’s not easily found on the web!!
Posted by BooMeR on July 31, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Is Jacob Walcott the reading player? becuase im pretty certain that he is not a relative of Theo… (said something like that on the reading site..)
Posted by goonerguy on July 31, 2008 at 11:47 pm
what chance do u think jeorge , Szczesny has at being reserves number 1 and future number 1 and how would u compare him to the other goalkeepers at the club
Posted by jeorge9 on August 1, 2008 at 10:37 am
theo said in an interview once that he is a distant relative of his. szczesny is much better than james shea at the moment, but mannone has already made the first-team squad although he could still play in the reserves next season. wojciech should be no.1 though. as for his future, it seems difficult for him as fabiasnki is rated highly by wenger as well.
Posted by goonerguy on August 1, 2008 at 11:06 am
any chance of mannone playing for the italian youth teams in the future as he seems to be pritty good for us but gets overlooked for his national teams
Posted by jeorge9 on August 1, 2008 at 11:32 am
italy have some good young ‘keepers and mannone is only eligible for the under-21s so it seems unlikely.