Arsenal sign goalkeeper James Dunn until end of season

Arsenal have signed Southend United goalkeeper James Dunn on a deal to the end of the season. The stopper, who initially joined the Gunners on a temporary basis to cover for the injured James Shea and Sean McDermott, has impressed under-18s coach Steve Bould in his four Premier Academy League outings to date.

Dunn may have conceded eight goals in his first three games for Arsenal, but his agility and communication with his team-mates, as well as his excellent delivery have won him many admirers at London Colney. With Shea and McDermott both suffering in their respective recuperations, Dunn could be set for a prolonged run in the side as Arsenal look to retain the Premier Academy League title.

As a second-year scholar, the former Fulham goalie is also eligible to play in the FA Youth Cup this season, easing any concerns Bould may have had about that particular competiton. If he continues to impress, Dunn may even push into the Reserve squad whilst Shea and McDermott remain sidelined.

Slightly further down in the system, Arsenal have several promising young goalkeepers at under-16 level, but none of these are considered experienced enough to step up an age group just yet. Luke Chambers, Yilmaz Aksoy and Reice Charles-Cook have shared the duties for Steve Gatting’s side so far this term as well as being named on the bench for the u-18s. Arsenal have another talented goalkeeper out on loan in Damian Martinez, who was signed, and subsequently loaned back to Independiente last summer and who represented Argentina in the FIFA U17 World Cup recently.

Reserve regulars may have to embark on loan spells to compensate for lack of action

The news that Arsenal Reserves’ trip to face West Ham United has been postponed until the New Year means that the Gunners only have two remaining league fixtures in 2009.

This year, with Tottenham’s decision to pull out, there are less fixtures than ever in the Reserve League South and, as such, games are spread sporadically throughout the course of the campaign, meaning it is difficult for those in need of matches to gain regular playing time.

With a tough looking trip to Manchester City in the Carling Cup Quarter-finals likely to mean Arsene Wenger is likely to play less youngsters than he would have liked, there is a serious shortage of game time for those who are too old to play for the under-18s yet are not considered part of the first-team squad.

A plausible option for the majority of them would be a loan spell, which would help them to develop their tactical understanding of the game whilst at the same time, hopefully, providing them with some much needed match action. The likes of Henri Lansbury and Jay Simpson are currently enjoying fruitful loan spells and those who have been part of Arsenal’s Carling Cup squad this season could soon join them.

The likes of Kyle Bartley, Craig Eastmond, Gilles Sunu, Francis Coquelin and Sanchez Watt, along with Mark Randall, are the most obvious candidates for a stint away from London Colney and, once the Gunners’ participation in the second most prestigious domestic cup competition is over for this season, then they are likely to depart.

Sunu has been tentatively linked in some quarters with a loan move to Blackpool, where Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has just completed a successful spell. The others would surely attract an assortment of Championship and League One clubs, with Wenger and his coaching staff charged with the task of finding a side which will give the youngsters regular playing time.

There are a batch of under-18 players ready to step up to the Reserves on a regular basis, with the likes of Ignasi Miquel, Cedric Evina, Conor Henderson and Emmanuel Frimpong capable of cementing regular places in the starting XI. If, for example, Sunu and Watt were to both go out on loan in the second half of the season, then it would open a door for Rhys Murphy, who has been a substitute for the last three Reserve matches.

With so many young professionals requiring game time, it is time for the cycle to get in motion again with the players who have been in the Reserves for a couple of years going out on loan and some of the under-18s stepping up to replace them.