Introducing three more youngsters

Cormac Hegarty

Cormac (circled) is a midfielder usually deployed in central positions and travelled with the squad for the recent Atalanta Cup tournament in Italy. He has represented Ireland at youth level, and despite missing much of this season through injury, he looks set to gain a regular starting berth for the under-16s next term.

Alex Witham

A long term servant of the Hale End Academy, Alex has impressed when given the opportunity this season. He can cover most defensive and midfield positions and is a real asset to the team.

Josh Rees

Left-winger Josh Rees first came to prominence when he scored in the Nike Cup earlier this year. With Roarie Deacon set to push into the under-18s next season, Josh should get more chances at under-16 level in 2008/2009, despite being a year younger than the likes of Benik Afobe and Nico Yennaris.

Welcome to a new feature on the blog: Whatever happened to…?, where we track the careers of Arsenal Academy products and see where they are now. Today’s featured player is Graham Stack.

After coming through the ranks at the Arsenal Academy, ‘keeper Graham was loaned out to feeder club Beveren in 2001. His time at the Belgium side was marred by a bizarre incident in which he struck a hooligan in the face after he had attacked him.

His big break at Arsenal came in the unbeaten season in 2003-2004. Whilst he did not play a league game during that campaign, he was still given the honour of lifting the Premiership trophy on the final day of the season. He made his debut against Rotherham in the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup and saved a penalty in the shootout, before converting the winning spot-kick himself. He went on to play every game in the competition, until the Gunners were defeated in the semi-finals by Middlesbrough.

Arsenal sent him on loan to Millwall the following season, playing 26 games. In 2005/2006, he joined Reading on loan and played against Arsenal as the Royals lost in the Carling Cup at Highbury. He went on to sign a permanent deal with the Berkshire club in early 2006.

Last season was spent on loan at Leeds, where he made 12 appearances, and he has recently completed a season at Wolves, where he only managed to play 2 games. It remains to be seen whether Stack will stay at relegated Reading and compete with the likes of Marcus Hanehmann and Adam Federici for the no.1 jersey, or seek a fresh challenge elsewhere.

Fran Merida- Cadiz 2 Real Sociedad 2

Fran started the game for Sociedad. They led 1-0 at half-time thanks to a Diaz de Cerio strike. However, Dani levelled things up shortly after the break. In an amazing turnaround, Cadiz then took the lead through Natalio, before Delibasic scored the leveller for Sociedad nine minutes from time.

Pedro Botelho- Salamanca 0 Numancia 1

Pedro played the last 12 minutes as Numancia lost 1-0 to Salamanca. He replaced Jorge Alonso on 78 minutes, but Mario Martinez’s 24th minute strike won the game for Numancia.

Carlos Vela- Osasuna v Murcia

Carlos is expected to feature for Osasuna as they look to avoid relegation when they take on Murcia this evening.

Nacer Barazite, Havard Nordtveit, Vito Mannone and Mark Randall are amongst Arsenal’s substitutes for today’s visit to Sunderland. However, there is no place in the squad for Kieran Gibbs who fell ill last night.

——————–Fabianski——————

–Djourou—-Senderos————-Song——Clichy

–Eboue——Denilson————-Gilberto—-Walcott

————Adebayor————–Bendtner———

subs: Mannone, Traore, Nordtveit, Barazite, Randall

The final matches of the group stages at the UEFA u-17 European Championship took place today. Scroll down to find out how the Arsenal players at the tournament got on.

Gilles Sunu- Switzerland 0 France 2

Gilles played 90 minutes for France as they booked their place in the semi-final thanks to a brace from Yannis Tafer. Gilles had a couple of shots on target and will be looking to keep his place in the team for the latter stages of the competition. In the other game in Group A, Spain came from a goal down to beat Ireland 3-1. The result means that Spain will join Les Bleus in the last four.

Oguzhan Ozyakup- Netherlands 2 Scotland 0

Oguzhan played the final four minutes as the Netherlands secured their qualification from Group B with a 2-0 victory over Scotland. Geoffrey Castillon put the Dutch ahead on 34 minutes, before Ricardo van Rhijn scored on 46 to seal the victory. In the other game in this group, hosts Turkey were held 0-0 by Serbia. The result means that the Turks join the Netherlands in the semi-finals, with Turkey winning the group by just one point. Oghzhan is expected to complete his move to Arsenal in the next couple of weeks, saying

Liam Brady, the head of youth development, watched me and communicated with my agent, but the transfer is still uncertain. I hope it will be certain in a few weeks.

So the group stages have come to an end, and the four remaining teams in the tournament are:

Spain

France

Turkey

Netherlands

The semi-finals take place on Tuesday, with the final on Friday.

Details are as follows:

Semi-finals

Netherlands V Spain
France V Turkey

Final
Netherlands/Spain v France/Turkey

Manager Arsene Wenger has predicted a bright future for the English youngsters at Arsenal Football Club. Speaking at Emirates Stadium earlier this week at a Q & A session with shareholders, the Frenchman revealed that there are ’six or seven’ English youngsters who will go on to become Premier League players and out of those there are two who in his eyes will make the grade at Arsenal. So, who could they be? Let’s take a closer look.

Well, you have to say that Jack Wilshere is one of them. Wenger was at Underhill to watch the sixteen year old’s innuendo performance for the reserves against West Ham and certainly liked what he saw. Recent comments from Arsene suggest that Wilshere could be one of the two that he thinks will make it at Arsenal, saying ‘I don’t think he will stay in the reserves long’.

Then there is Kieran Gibbs, who has recently returned from a loan spell at Norwich. Having been named on the bench against Everton last weekend, Kieran could again be involved against Sunderland on Sunday. Wenger showed tremendous faith in him when he played the Lambeth-born youngster at left-back against Sheffield United and Kieran didn’t dissapoint, playing a quality long ball to set up Eduardo for the Croatian to score.

Mark Randall is in a similar position having spent time on loan at Burnley in the Championship. Wenger has spoken highly of Randall in the past and the former Wimbledon player played in the Carling Cup last season, whilst still technically a first year. However, Gibbs seems to have an advantage over him as he is more versatile.

With all the hype about Wilshere, many people have forgotten about the talent of Henri Lansbury. After scoring a hat-trick against Burnley in the third round of the FA Youth Cup, Henri has missed the second half of the season after suffering from glandular fever. Despite this, he will be looking to bounce back next season and if he gets back to his best, then Wenger won’t be able to ignore him.

Striker Luke Freeman arrived from Gillingham in January admist mass fanfare. Four months down the line and things haven’t gone quite as expected, with Steve Bould even dropping Luke from his squad for the Play-off semi-final against Aston Villa. But he has bounced back and was top scorer at the recent Atalanta cup. As he has said himself, the real work comes next season when he joins the Academy full time. Arsene Wenger has described him as an ‘interesting talent’.

There are many more where these came from. The likes of Kyle Bartley, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Rhys Murphy, Paul Rodgers and Emmanuel Frimpong spring to mind. Only time will tell, but the next time an opposition supporter tells you that Arsenal don’t have any English players, just show them this article.

Arsenal youngsters Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall could get their Premier League chance on Sunday when Arsenal travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland. With third place already secure for the Gunners and Sunderland safe from relegation, both sides will have little to play for and Wenger may decide to use it as a stage to blood some more highly rated prospects. Last season, Wenger named five youngsters on the bench for the final day trip to Portsmouth and is keen to let them experience the matchday atmosphere. Speaking to Arsenal TV, he said

I could give one or two players an early breather because they go to Euro 2008 or the African qualifiers.

So Kieran Gibbs, who got on the bench last weekend, could be involved again, so could Mark Randall. But I am really not sure yet.

Gibbs and Randall have both only recently returned from loan spells and judging by these comments from Wenger, it seems as if they are both in his long term plans as he is showing a lot of faith in them. I wouldn’t be suprised if both of these players went on loan again next season.

Another possible candidate to feature against Sunderland is Jay Simpson, who marked his return from a loan spell at Millwall by scoring a hat-trick against Dorchester on Tuesday. Nacer Barazite has also been tipped for a first-team call up.

Mallorca 1 Osasuna 0

After poor performances in recent matches, Carlos was dropped to the bench as Osasuna took on Mallorca this evening in La Liga, knowing a win would give them a massive boost in their bid to avoid relegation.

However, things didn’t go to plan for the Pamplona based side and they went a goal down after Daniel Guiza struck for the home side on 32 minutes.

Osasuna went into the break a goal down, and Vela was promptly sent to warm up.

Half time- Mallorca 1 Osasuna 0

Carlos replaced Martin Astudillo on 52 minutes, and Osasuna made a further change just after the hour, bringing on Javier Portillo for Dady and it would be the second substitution which would have the most influence on the game.

Carlos had a couple of opportunities to bring Osasuna level, but was denied by good saves from Miguel Moya.

Carlos may have failed to score, but Portillo managed to do exactly that when he struck on 73 minutes. A huge sigh of relief was breathed by all those connected to the club. However, Portillo was sent off just seven minutes later for a reckless challenge.

It looked as if the ten men of Osasuna were going to be able to hold on for a vital point, but an Oscar Trejo goal in the third minute of stoppage time handed victory to Mallorca.

Despite the defeat, Osasuna climbed out of the relegation zone thanks to Recreativo de Huelva’s 2-0 loss to Villarreal. Vela’s side sit just one place and one point above th drop zone with two games left to play.

Full time- Mallorca 2 Osasuna 1

Carlos played 38 minutes

The 2008 UEFA u-17 European Championships are currently taking place in Turkey. Scroll down for reports on the Arsenal players at the tournament, Gilles Sunu of France and Oghuzan Ozyakup of the Netherlands.

Gilles Sunu- France 3 Spain 3

Gilles played the final 18 minutes of this pulsating game as France took on the holders Spain in Group A.

After failing to score in the opening game against Ireland, Gilles was left on the bench for the eagerly anticipated face-off between France and Spain. France dominated the early stages of the game and after Keko missed an early chance for Spain, Yanis Tafer was on hand to give France the lead on 11 minutes after a run through the defence. Spain enjoyed the better of the possession after the goal, as they piled forward in search of an equaliser. Thiago hit a free-kick narrowly over the bar and Ruben had a further opportunity before Spain actually did score. A free-kick was taken and Ruben Rochina was credited with the goal, although it could be argued that it was actually Thiago’s strike. The whistle-happy referee gave several other free-kicks before the interval, which neither side made the most of and booked Remy for bringing down Ruben. The two sides went into the break deadlocked at 1-1.

Half time- France 1 Spain 1

If you thought the first half was good, then the second was simply amazing. A sensational period at the start of the half saw three goals and some cracking football. It was the French who took the lead. Spain’s Oriol brought down Lacazette and the highly-regarded Clement Grenier smashed the resulting free-kick in to the back of the net to make it 2-1. No sooner had the French finished celebrating, their goalkeeper Mfa Mezui was picking the ball out of the back of the net. A quick break-away led to a corner, which set-piece king Thiago delivered and Pudil managed to bundle it home for 2-2. Game on! Then, amazingly, in a similar style, France won a corner which Lacazette took and Remy did well to score with a great piece of skill. 3-2 to France and completing an outstanding start to the second half which was a great advert for the UEFA u-17 European Championships. Spain looked to change things and introduced Manu for Kamana, before replacing the misfiring Keka with Canales. But it was Thiago who made the difference with a free-kick on 67 minutes. Instead of whipping it over the wall as expected, he used his intelligence to lash a powerful effort across the ground and into the back of the net, leaving the French stunned. It was a goal worthy of winning the game, let alone bringing it level.

Sunu emerged from the bench with 18 minutes to play and took up a position on the right hand side of midfield. He had an opportunity soon after his arrival but seemed a little hesitant in the area and in the end was overcrowded by Spanish defenders. He set up a couple of attacks with some decent long balls and as has been mentioned before, he is a willing runner and often tracked back to help in defence.

After a tense last few minutes, the referee blew the final whistle to end this pulsating game. Thiago was outstanding for Spain, whilst Clement Grenier was in good form again for France. It’s clear that both of these countries have bright futures.

Full time- France 3 Spain 3

In the other game in Group A, Switzerland beat Ireland 1-0 thanks to a Gunning own goal. It makes the final round of games in the group an enticing prospect, with Spain and France leading the way with four points, and Switzerland lurking just behind on three. France face the Swiss on Saturday, whilst Spain face Ireland and you would expect the two big guns to make it through.

Oghuzan Ozyakup- Netherlands 1 Serbia 0

In Group B, Oguhzan Ozyakup was an unused substitute as the Netherlands beat Serbia 1-0. Despite enjoying large spells of possession, the Serbians were unable to exploit the Dutch backline and lost due to a Castillon strike on 33 minutes.

Hosts Turkey beat Scotland 1-0 in the other game in this group, and the Turks sit top of the Group with six points and one game left to play. The Netherlands lie second in the table, tied on three points with third placed Serbia. In the final round of games on Saturday, Serbia take on Turkey, whilst the Netherlands are up against Scotland who sit bottom of the group with no points from two games.

Jay Simpson announced his return to Arsenal with a hat trick to help Arsenal beat Dorchester 6-1 in Brian Benjamin’s testimonial at the Jewson Stadium tonight.

Arsenal welcomed back Gavin Hoyte from injury, whilst Mark Randall returned from his loan spell at Burnley.

——————Mannone————–

–Rodgers——G.Hoyte————Ayling—-Steer

–Ogogo——-Dunne————-Randall—Gibbs

————–Simpson———–Barazite——–

The match was supposed to commemorate Benjamin’s time at the club, but it was Arsenal’s youngsters that the crowd had come to see.

The Gunners set about playing their neat passing game from the beginning and by half time they were three goals to the good. A brace from Jay Simpson plus one from Randall gave Arsenal the lead at the break.

Half time- Dorchester Town 0 Arsenal 3

Arsenal cranked it up a gear after the break and Simpson managed to clinch his hat trick. Randall scored a delightful free-kick and Nacer Barazite got his name on the scoresheet. Dorchester did manage to pull one back, but it was nothing but a mere consolation.

The final whistle blew and it brought the curtain down on what has been an eventful and overall successful season for Arsenal’s reserves.

Full time- Dorchester Town 1 Arsenal 6