Loan watch: Pedro impresses as Salamanca are held

Pedro Botelho, Havard Nordtveit- U.D. Salamanca 0 Alaves 0

Arsenal loanee Pedro Botelho was in action as Salamanca kicked off their new Liga BBVA campaign today against Alavés. Salamanca were on top for much of the game but were without key player David Rodriguez and were lacking a cutting edge up front. Pedro impressed at left-back, often getting forward to support the attack and was equally capable with his defensive duties. Arsenal’s other loanee Havard Nordtveit is suffering from a lack of match fitness and as such did not feature. The Union will be dissapointed not to have won the game but at least they gained a point from this match and they will be looking to add to it when they face Sevilla Atlético next weekend. Before that they face U.D. Las Palmas in the Copa del Ray on Wednesday. You can read yesterday’s loan updates here.

Player of the month-August 2008: Sanchez Watt

Tricky winger Sanchez Watt has claimed the innaugral Arsenal Youth player of the month award for the 2008/2009 season following two impressive displays in the opening under-18s fixtures against Everton and Wolves. In the Everton game, Sanchez was voted the Arsenal Youth man of the match for a great all-round display. His pace, vision and technique were on show for all at London Colney to see and he played a part in the second goal of the game as well.

In the next fixture against Wolves, Sanchez impressed again, scoring with just two minutes on the clock. Arsenal went on to win 3-1 and it looks as if this will be a big season for the England Youth international as he aims to become a Reserve team regular.

He came under pressure for this award by flamboyant under-18s captain Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, whose commanding displays in the first two fixtures underlined just why he is so highly-regarded by the club. Sanchez’s skills and passing accuracy meant that Watt shaded it in the end though. Another contender for this award was Luke Freeman who hit a brace against Everton and followed it up with a goal against P.S.G. in the Zinedine Zidane Tournament.

Sanchez will be looking to retain the award in September but with no fewer than seven games scheduled overall for the Reserves and Under-18s next month, it looks as if it looks as if the competition for the award will be closer than ever.

Arsenal U18s 3 Wolves U18s 1

Goals from Sanchez Watt, Gilles Sunu and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas meant that Arsenal u18s continued their 100% record this season with a 3-1 victory over Wolves. Watt notched after only two minutes, with Sunu and Thomas both scoring their goals before half-time. Aristole Guerin Lokonga pulled one back for the hosts with seven minutes left, but Arsenal held on for the win.

Elsewhere in Group A, Norwich were beaten 2-0 by Man.Utd whilst Chelsea suffered a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. Ipswich drew 1-1 meaning Steve Bould’s side go top of the group ahead of their home clash with Bristol City next weekend.

Team:

—————————-Shea———————–

—Blackwood—–Ayling—————–Cruise——Evina

–Henderson——Eastmond————–Thomas——-Watt

—————-Murphy—————-Sunu————-

Meanwhile in the Zinedine Zidane tournament in Cannes, Arsenal u-16s beat OGC Nice 2-1 last night thanks to goals from Emmanuel Frimpong and Benik Afobe. They face Bordeaux tonight and will be hoping to progress into tomorrow’s final against either Marseille or Lyon.

Loan watch: Wins for Traore and Gilbert, frustration for Barazite

ARMAND TRAORE- EVERTON 0 PORTSMOUTH 3

Armand retained his starting position on the left-wing as Portsmouth went into today’s game still looking for their first Premier League points. Jermain Defoe opened the scoring for Pompey as his partnership with Peter Crouch finally came to fruition. Crouch flicked a ball into the former Spurs striker’s path and Defoe struck to make it 1-0 on 12 minutes. Glen Johnson then doubled the South Coast side’s lead five minutes before the break after he slotted in Defoe’s cross. Arteta’s shot for Everton was tipped onto the post by David James to keep the lead intact. Traore struggled to make an impact on the game in the first half. Harry Redknapp kept his faith in the Frenchman, however, and he emerged from the tunnel to take his place on the pitch for the second-half. Pompey sealed the game on 69 minutes when Defoe’s effort came off the crossbar and Crouch headed it in to the empty net for 3-0. Everton responded by bringing on highly rated youngster Jose Baxter but it was too little, too late as Pompey hung on for their first win of the season. Armand was replaced by Hermann Hreidarsson 11 minutes from time.

Armand played 79 minutes

NACER BARAZITE- BARNSLEY 2 DERBY COUNTY 0

After being left out of the Derby side which saw off Preston in the Carling Cup in midweek under Arsenal’s instructions, Nacer regained his place in the squad for the trip to Oakwell but had to be content with a place on the bench. It was a drab first-half with several fouls delaying the pace of the game and the two sides went into the break all square. Barnsley took the lead on 72 minutes through Ian Hume to leave Paul Jewell still waiting for his first league victory as Derby manager. Barazite was left frustrated as Jewell opted to bring on the more experienced Nathan Ellington in search of an equaliser. Barnsley doubled their advantage through Steven Foster seven minutes from time and then on 86 minutes, Nacer finally got his chance after replacing Rob Hulse. He didn’t have enough time to influence the game though as Derby suffered yet another defeat. The result leaves the Rams rock bottom of the Championship.

Nacer played 4 minutes

KERREA GILBERT- CHELTENHAM 0 LEICESTER CITY 4

After being knocked out of the Carling Cup in cruel fashion by Fulham in midweek, the Foxes were determined to bounce back against Cheltenham this afternoon. Kerrea started again at right-back and was lucky not be booked for a handball on 12 minutes. A Lloyd Dyer goal just three minutes in gave Leicester a deserved 1-0 lead at the break. Matt Oakley added a second for the Foxes on 54 minutes. The in-form Matty Fryatt made it three on 77 minutes to seal the win. The Foxes weren’t finished there though as Dyer got his second of the game just three minutes later. Leicester moved to the top of League One with that win, leading Oldham on goal difference.

Kerrea played 90 minutes

VINCENT VAN DEN BERG- VVV VENLO 1 FC ZWOLLE 1

Vincent missed out through injury as Zwolle were held to a 1-1 draw by VVV Venlo on Friday night.

PEDRO BOTELHO, HAVARD NORDTVEIT- U.D. SALAMANCA V ALAVES (SUNDAY)

Pedro and Havard will both hope to be involved as the Union kick off their season against Alaves tomorrow.

Arsenal to play Sheffield United in Carling Cup

Arsenal have been drawn at home against Championship side Sheffield United in the Third Round of the Carling Cup. The Gunners faced the Blades in the Fourth round of the competition last season and won 3-0 with Eduardo hitting a brace and Denilson also on the scoresheet. The match is likely to see some more Arsenal youngsters make their first-team debuts.

The draw in full:

Arsenal v Sheff Utd
Brighton or Man City v Derby
Burnley v Fulham
Portsmouth v Chelsea
Blackburn v Everton
Rotherham v Southampton
Swansea v Cardiff
Ipswich v Wigan
Stoke v Reading
Leeds v Hartlepool
Watford v West Ham
Man Utd v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v Crewe
Aston Villa v QPR
Sunderland v Northampton
Newcastle v Tottenham

Ties to take place on September 23/24 2008.

Wolves U18 v Arsenal U18- Match preview

Arsenal under-18s travel to Wolves tomorrow looking for their second win of the season, after claiming three points against Everton last week. A Luke Freeman brace plus a Jay Thomas strike gave Arsenal a 3-1 victory and Steve Bould’s side will be buzzing going into tomorrrow’s fixture.

Luke Freeman, Emmanuel Frimpong, Sam Byles and Oliver Nicholas all pulled out of the FA International Tournament in mid-week and are representing Arsenal u-16s at the Zinedine Zidane tournament in France so are unavailable. Conor Henderson returns to the side and could be handed a starting berth, whilst Gilles Sunu and Francis Coquelin are likely to be absent because of their involvement in a French training camp at Clairefontaine this week.

Predicted team:

———————-Shea—————–

–Eastmond—–Bartley———Ayling—-Cruise

-Rasmussen—–Henderson—–Thomas (c)–Watt

————–Murphy——–Deacon——–

Wolves overcame MK Dons with a 2-1 victory last week so will be looking to keep their 100% record going.

Arsenal were one of four Group A sides who claimed maximum points on the opening weekend, with Norwich topping the table following their 5-2 demolition of Nottingham Forest. Charlton and Ipswich also enjoyed victories, whilst Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Crewe.

The league leaders Norwich face a tough trip to Carrington to take on Man.Utd, whilst Chelsea face Newcastle.

Check back tomorrow to find out how the young Gunners got on.

Cannes Tournament: Arsenal U16S 1 P.S.G. U16S 0

A Luke Freeman strike gave Arsenal under-16s a 1-0 victory over P.S.G. in the opening game of the Zinedine Zidane tournament in Cannes.

After being held to a 2-2 draw by Everton last weekend, Gatting’s side were determined to get back to winning ways and with a victory now under their belt the Gunners will go into the next fixture against Nice with renewed confidence.

The final of the competition takes place on Sunday.

——————— Mann ———————

Byles ——- Nicholas ——- Frimpong ——- Brisnal

——————— Aneke ———————

——————– Özyakup ——————–

Meade ————————————– Freeman

————– Banton —- Afobe ————–

Line-up courtesy of ArsenalAcademy

Confusion over second goalscorer in Arsenal victory over Everton under-18s

Thomas (circled) celebrates- but did he get the final touch?

There has been some confusion this week as to who scored Arsenal under-18s second goal in the 3-1 victory over Everton last Saturday. Luke Freeman gave Arsenal the lead, but then a second goal came from a corner. Emmanuel Frimpong played a corner short and Sanchez Watt seemed to get a touch and at first glance it looked as if it was his goal. Having seen the goal again, it looks as if Jay Thomas got a touch with his head but there may have been a slight deflection off an Everton defender. Arsenal TV initially awarded the goal to Thomas but in their match report it was deemed an own goal. I was at the match but as I was standing quite a long way away from the goal it was difficult to make out who scored. James Shea even congratulated Sanchez Watt for the strike, whilst Jay Thomas didn’t celebrate with his team-mates after the ball hit the back of the net. If you were at the match and standing near the goal where the second goal was scored, then please leave a comment below citing who you think got the final touch.

Arsenal youngsters jet out for Cannes tournament

Several of Arsenal’s highly-regarded youngsters have flown out to Cannes for the Zinedine Zidane tournament. All eyes will be on Benik Afobe (above) who had a fantastic goalscoring record for the u-16s last season, whilst there are suggestions that Sam Byles, Oliver Nicholas, Luke Freeman and Emmanuel Frimpong have all made the trip, ruling them out of tomorrow’s u-18 trip to Wolves. New signing Oghuzan Ozyakup is also poised to feature.

The youngsters face PSG and Nice before the final on Sunday.

Predicted team:

——————— Mann ———————

Byles —- Nicholas — Miquel —- Brisnal

——————- Frimpong ——————

———- Aneke ———- Özyakup ———-

Banton ——————————- Freeman

——————— Afobe ———————

With thanks to: Arsenal-Academy.com

Worthing 1 Arsenal XI 5

Arsenal reserves wrapped up their pre-season preparations with a 5-1 demolition of Worthing Town tonight at the A2B. After victories over Crawley Town, Rushden & Diamonds and Boreham Wood over the course of pre-season, tonight was the final test for Neil Banfield and Steve Bould’s young charges and it’s one which they passed with flying colours. Henri Lansbury’s brace added to further strikes from Jay Simpson, Kieran Gibbs and Paul Rodgers made it a strong win for the Gunners.

Arsenal were without French duo Francis Coquelin and Gilles Sunu who are away at a training camp, whilst Jack Wilshere, newly promoted to the first-team squad, was called into the side.

———————-Szczesny——————

—Ogogo—–Hoyte————–Bartley—-Gibbs

—Lansbury—-Randall————-Merida—-Wilshere

————-Simpson————-Fonte————-

subs: Shea, Rodgers, Steer, Thomas, Murphy, Watt, Dunne.

Spaniard Fran Merida found Lansbury who slotted home the first on 10 minutes. The home side responded soon after with midfielder Paul Kennett pulling Worthing level after a mix-up between Wojciech Szczesny and Mark Randall. Arsenal restored their lead soon after with Jay Simpson getting on the scoresheet after being played through by Kyle Bartley before Lansbury got his second, and Arsenal’s third, on 26 minutes after Rui Fonte’s assist. Kieran Gibbs then made it four to send Arsenal into the break with a healthy lead.

Arsenal brought on Jay Thomas for Kyle Bartley at half-time, with the home side altering most of their team. Just seven minutes later, Arsenal introduced their remaining six substitutes with James Shea, James Dunne, Paul Rodgers, Rene Steer, Rhys Murphy and Sanchez Watt all getting a taste of the action.

Arsenal got their fifth when Jay Thomas’ powerful effort was parried and Paul Rodgers followed it up to score a rare goal for the Edmonton-born youngster. Rhys Murphy could have made it six late on but hit the post.

This comfortable victory will leave the Gunners in good spirits going into Monday’s Reserves curtain-raiser against Chelsea at Underhill.