Arsenal’s youngsters rounded off 2012 in some style- Terry Burton’s side reached the knockout stage of the NextGen Series after dispatching of Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle United were swept aside in the FA Youth Cup, and the U18s rounded off a difficult first half of the season by annihilating Blackburn Rovers.
Following an extended Winter break, with the young Gunners having only returned to training last week, preparations are now being made for the quartet of competitions that Arsenal’s talented crop of starlets will face this year. The NextGen Series appears, on paper at least, to be the most exciting proposition, with the possibility arising of a glamour tie against one of Europe’s elite academies, including the likes of Barcelona and Inter Milan.
The draw for the next phase of that competition has not yet been made, with one final group stage fixture, between Liverpool and Inter, still to be completed, but Terry Burton’s U21 side are already aware of their opponents for the second half of the season, having qualified for the Elite Development group, where they will compete with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Liverpool, Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion, with the fixture dates expected to be announced shortly. The group should provide some high-quality tests for Arsenal’s developing talents, with the only negative being that the majority of these fixtures are likely to be played behind-closed-doors.
The U18s, in contrast, will compete in a lesser division having struggled for form in the first half of the campaign. Their list of opponents- Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Middlesbrough-, however, is still a difficult one, although coach Steve Gatting will look to bed in several of next season’s scholars, including the much-vaunted Gedion Zelalem, into the side.
Perhaps Arsenal’s best chance of silverware below first-team level this season, however, is in the FA Youth Cup. The emphatic victory over Newcastle in the previous round demonstrated Arsenal’s abundance of attacking potential, and with Serge Gnabry poised to return from injury shortly, hopes will be high of at least progressing past the Fourth Round stage for the first time since they last won the competition in 2009. Fulham will be the opponents at Underhill for the next round of the competition later this month, although an exact date for the fixture is yet to be confirmed by either club.
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PLAYERS ELIGIBLE FOR EACH COMPETITION
Name U21 NextGen FAYC U18
Damian Martinez Yes
Martin Angha Yes Yes
Zak Ansah Yes Yes
Hector Bellerin Yes Yes Yes Yes
Samir Bihmoutine Yes Yes*
Daniel Boateng Yes
Reice Charles-Cook Yes Yes Yes*
Craig Eastmond Yes*
Kyle Ebecilio Yes Yes
Thomas Eisfeld Yes Yes
Serge Gnabry Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sead Hajrovic Yes Yes
Isaac Hayden Yes Yes Yes Yes
Conor Henderson Yes
Jernade Meade Yes
Ignasi Miquel Yes Yes*
Nigel Neita Yes Yes
Kristoffer Olsson Yes Yes Yes Yes
Josh Rees Yes Yes*
James Shea Yes
Jon Toral Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sanchez Watt Yes*
Jordan Wynter Yes Yes
Nico Yennaris Yes Yes*
Jack Jebb Yes Yes Yes Yes
Austin Lipman Yes Yes Yes Yes
Chuba Akpom Yes Yes Yes Yes
Deyan Iliev Yes Yes Yes Yes
Leander Siemann Yes Yes Yes Yes
Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill Yes Yes Yes Yes
* eligible as an over-age player.
The following scholars and schoolboys are also available for all four competitions: Zach Fagan, Anthony Jeffrey, Tarum Dawkins, Arinse Uade, Tom Dallison, Alex Iwobi, Alfred Mugabo, Josh Vickers, Glen Kamara, Gedion Zelalem, Jordan Brown, Ryan Huddart, Tafari Moore, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Elliot Wright.
I wish them well. I just hope the demands at a higher level does not damage their chances, in all four events really?
I am thinking of the likes of Eisfeld, Miquel and Yennaris could all be called up to the first team if required. Those that are available for all four events will also need to select the games they play very carefully?
Best of luck to all concerned. They have clearly earned this difficulty for the coaching staff
Denzeil Boadu should get a scholarship
FA youth cup game against Fulham will be tentatively played on january 19th.
Our midfield is rubbish
Cazorla loses the ball too much and slow in his passing, does NOT PLAY BETWEEN THE LINES. Better suited in the wings a la Hleb.
Wilshere too inconsistent, gets brushed off easily, defencively poor.
Arteta offers nothing and he is a passenger.
Diaby superb player, can play all three midfield roles but injury prone
Ramsey super talented but inconsistent.
Jon Toral fantastic player,how he is not in the first team I will never know
Our best midield is Diaby-Wilshere-Jon Toral
Jon toral? Are you serious? What has he done to go straight into a team that is top 5 in PL? He look very slow to me. I am not sure what he can do at senior level. Many youths are playing like they think they have already make it in the reserves. Cazorla is being said to be one of the best transfer any team has done this season and he really look world class. Its not his fault Giroud and some other are doing shit.
Not denying that Cazorla is a great player but not suited to play in midfield at Arsenal.
Better on the wing IMO. I would prefer Rosicky ahead of him midfield.
Jon toral is our best youth product brother, the kid will go to the very top. He is 6ft2, very strong and pretty fast. He’s got a wand of a left foot.
What I admire about him is that he provides DRIVE in midfield which has been sorely missed. He is superb at attacking SPACE which neither Cazorla and Wilshere do.
Remember he is only settling to English football but he was unreal at Barcelona.
I applaud WENGA for finding such a gem.
I have seen him play for Barcelona. Unreal? You are so up his ass I can’t believe it. Cazorla is unreal. You want Toral to replace Cazorla who has been proven what a player he is at the very top for a long time.
Toral is only the best youth in your opinion. Explain to me why is is sub off sometimes in youth games when we really need someone who can play those amazing balls you are talking about.
Get real he has to prove it in the english senior level before you say we should give him a chance for our first team. He is giving space and drive at U21 level. That is way below league 4 level.
Gnabry is the best youth player we have at the moment.
sell arteta and buy Morgan Schneiderlin
I don’t think that our midfield is rubbish…we are missing our most complete midfielder in Diaby, and until we can sort that out, whether that be through a new signing, or a miracle run of fitness from Diaby himself, we will struggle a bit in the central areas. I still think that this current unit is good enough, but there seems to be a lack of commitment and understanding at the moment. The former is more of a worry than the latter. There is no excuse for not making yourself available for a pass, or running in to the box, or other small details that can make a huge difference!!! That is what truly worries me about this group.
This is Wenga’s worst midfield. They’ve been bullied by Wigan and Southampton ffs
The midfield lacks drive and power. Arteta does not take risks but always goes for the safe pass. He ruines almost every single counter-attack. Toral and Diaby are the masters at attacking space which need them in the team.
I may or may not be be in a minority here, but Yanbi Manga Diarra ( or whoever you really are ) has to be the most entertaining poster I’ve read anywhere on any blog.
He either has a great sense of humour or is a patient in a secure institution?
Entertaining yes, and sometimes he does have a point, but calling our players rubbish when clearly they are not is a trait that I can’t stand, that far to many Arsenal “fans” have. How can you call Cazorla rubbish??? I think he could do a job on the wing, like Yanbi does, however, his play in the middle has been far from rubbish!!!
I think if we want to keep Arteta, Wilshere, Diaby, or a new signing, and Cazorla on the pitch at the same time, the logical choice to move someone out on to the wing is Cazorla. Jack can do a bit more defensively than Cazorla can. If this were to happen, I wouldn’t use Cazorla as an out and out winger, or I’d tell him to cut in as much as possible. IF Jack were to go out on the wing, I’d rather see him go out on the right side, so he can cut in on his left foot. Sort of like how Iniesta does on the left, except for Jack it would be on the right. I’d still like to keep him in the middle more than Cazorla though. I think once Diaby comes back, or we make a defensive midfield signing, OR use Coquelin more, Cazorla MIGHT move to the wing.
Cazorla is a fantastic player so I have high standart for him. He’s been rubbish in midfield: loses possesion easily, dwells on the ball too much. Rosicky, Fabregas, Ramsey have been far more suited than Cazorla.
He is far better suited in the wing.
Coquelin won’t make it, he is too weak and has poor positioning. Better sell him now.
The sooner we promote Toral the better.
The midfield is excellent going forward but Cazorla needs a rest, he’s making sloppy passes and touches. Defensively, I think Jack has been the midfield’s weak link but he’s far too good driving forward to lose his place. The attacking problems are with the front three who don’t do enough in the way of helping the midfield move the ball or create chances. I think another technical player in a wide position would alleviate that pressure, playing two strikers on the flanks (Podolski and Theo) makes it hard for us to create anything against sides who defend deep because they want space to run into, they can’t do much in tight spaces. Cazorla can play wide but the problem is who goes in his central place. Ramsey isn’t good enough although he brings a good energy, Rosicky is a better choice but not as good as Cazorla. I think moving Wilshere forward is the best option, he’s looked capable of playing in between the lines and taking him away from a deep position and giving Arteta someone more disciplined alongside him to a share the workload might help us defensively too. But who would that be? Obviously Diaby if he’s fit but he never is, so Coquelin? I don’t think he’s ready.