Young Gunners, Loanees & Reserve Football

Would prefer Frimpong on loan next season. His development has beeen halted for about a year, so I see why not.

I hoping Wilshere’s breakthrough inspires other players in our youth teams.

It will be interesting to see what happens to young midfielders in pre season and the start of the season. As with Coquelin, Frimpong and Eastmond think two will get loaned out and one stay around the first team. Might be they each get loaned out at different times not for the whole season e.g. 3 months. Henderson will go out on loan as well I expect. If Qzyakup signs a new deal you would think he would go out on loan at some point as well. Still leaves Aneke?

http://plixi.com/p/91771565

oh dear

@ZakAnsah

Dallas Cup On Friday , Should Be A Great Experience

@JeffreyMonakana
Going dallas #buzzing!!!

It will be interesting to see what happens to young midfielders in pre season and the start of the season. As with Coquelin, Frimpong and Eastmond think two will get loaned out and one stay around the first team. Might be they each get loaned out at different times not for the whole season e.g. 3 months. Henderson will go out on loan as well I expect. If Qzyakup signs a new deal you would think he would go out on loan at some point as well. Still leaves Aneke?

Only 1 will make it at Arsenal (Frimpong/Coquelin/Eastmond) and if wenger brings in M'Villa (I seriously doubt he will) then none of them will make it

I love Coquelin, technically perfect, can run for 90mins, clean but a very strong tackler, good height (I think its 182cm) but the worrying fact about Coquelin is that he's injury prone not so much with us (Reserves) but he has picked quite a few injuries at Lorient. Its probably due to the fact that he never had any pre season (was playing in the U19 championship that he won and named in the team of the tournament) or the step up he has had to make going from Reserves to Lorient. Other worrying thing about him is that he really isn't bulked up can he handle the rigours of PL or League Cup and can he boss the midfield like Song can

Frimpong on the other hand is a BEAST, he looks less like a footballer and more like body builder. he's not particularly fast or tall (178cm) or a great passer but a DM doesn't have to be great in any of these. What he is good at is tacking, pressing and having a winning mentality. I have seen Frimpong for almost 3 years barring his injuries and he has never backed down from a fight or been scared of an opponent or a situation. He will fight for the team and he knows how to leave a foot in when need be

Eastmond in my view has no chance against these two

Frimpong/Coquelin both offer something different and theirs place for only one of them in the future, who Wenger chooses will depend on how these two progress in the coming season in their loan and when given the oppurtunity to play for the first team

It's a fantastic experience to play teams from all over the world, it replicates scenarios that they may face if they play in the Champions League and as such will be a great learning experience.

It also allows the players to forge closer bonds with their team mates, you can tell that the reserves are good friends, Lansbury Gibbs Wilshere etc.

I think Coquelin and Frimpong could both make it here at the same time.

i don't think that frimpong will make it here...the same for JET.....they are not as good as people think....in my opinion..maybe i am wrong.

Loans playing tonight.

Sanchez Watt - Derby Count Vs Leeds United
Craig Eastmond - Millwall Vs Bristol City
Henri Lansbury - Watford Vs Norwich City
JET - Sheff United Vs Cardiff United

i don't think that frimpong will make it here...the same for JET.....they are not as good as people think....in my opinion..maybe i am wrong.

The fact that our current first team has such little muscle may mean we overrate the stronger youngsters. If someone irons out JET's inconsistencies he will be one hell of a player, and I do think Frimpong has a chance due to his workrate and enthusiasm.

Most youngsters don't make it though, so the odds are against them.

basically if the loan spell is not a success (jet, coquelin, sunu) that doesn't bode too well for their first team integration.

OTOH afobe, lansbury, bartley really deserve a shot after successful loans

@younggunsblog

Chuks Aneke earlier pulled out of the England U18 squad and has now pulled out of the Dallas Cup squad too. Expect Jamie Edge to come in.

Bad times for Chuks, presumably injury, missing 2 big experiences at his age will be pretty upsetting.

The team will miss if a lot but now we know it will be Oz, Frimpong and Henderson in midfield. Oz playing the Aneke role?

http://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/monakana-added-to-dallas-cup-squad-tournament-preview/#comments

An Arsenal under-19 side will travel to America on Friday ahead of their participation in the prestigious Dallas Cup.

The Gunners will participate in the Gordon Jago Supergroup, where they will take on the Dallas Texans, Chorrillo FC and Club Bolivar. Should Arsenal win their group and progress to the semi-finals they will face the winners of Group D, who could be Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, with the only possibility of a mouthwatering match-up with Barcelona being if both sides reach the Final.

Wherever they finish, the tournament is sure to be a rich learning curve for Arsenal’s players, with the experience of representing the club abroad a useful exercise ahead of potential future European commitments later in their careers. The age rulings mean that Rhys Murphy and Thomas Cruise are ineligible, but Arsenal’s travelling squad is still a very strong one, with both Ignasi Miquel and Conor Henderson possessing first-team experience, whilst Emmanuel Frimpong, Roarie Deacon and Luke Freeman are also included.

The rest of the squad is comprised of first and second years, although Nico Yennaris is out through injury and Benik Afobe is unable to travel due to his loan commitments with Huddersfield Town. The inclusions of the likes of Jordan Wynter, Josh Rees and Philip Roberts is a good indication that they are likely to join Martin Angha, Elton Monteiro and Kyle Ebecilio on professional deals in the future, whilst Nigel Neita has been unable to recover in time from his long-standing injury, meaning that Jeffrey Monakana, who has worked exceptionally hard this season, will make the trip instead. Callum Webb is still doubtful, with Alban Bunjaku ready to step in if necessary, whilst doubts persist over the fitness of both George Brislen-Hall and goalkeeper Damien Martinez.

Arsenal’s first-choice eleven is a little tricky to predict. Martinez, if fit, would start in goal, with the back four likely to comprise of Sead Hajrovic, Daniel Boateng, Miquel and Jernade Meade. Then comes the interesting part. Henderson is a sure bet to fill one of the two holding midfield roles, but a sense of uncertainty surrounds who his partner may be. Frimpong is still somewhat lacking in match fitness and may not be able to last the ninety minutes, so Oguzhan Ozyakup, who is still yet to commit his future to the club beyond this summer, may start instead. The midfield triumvirate of Deacon, Chuks Aneke and Freeman should strike a semblance of fear into opponent’s defences, whilst Zak Ansah may just edge out Philip Roberts for the lead striker role.

With the group games coming in quick succession, rotation is a pre-requisite, with all 22 members of the squad likely to see game time at some point.

Possible team: (replacements in brackets)

Martinez

(McDermott)

Hajrovic-Boateng-Miquel-Meade

(Wynter-Angha-Monteiro-B Hall)

Frimpong-Henderson

(Webb-Ebecilio)

Deacon-Aneke-Freeman

(Rees-Ozyakup-Monakana)

Ansah

(Roberts)

Arsenal fixtures:

Sun, Apr 17- Dallas Texans

Mon, Apr 18- Chorrillo FC

Wed, Apr 20- Club Bolivar

Fri, Apr 22- Semi-Final

Sun, Apr 24- Final

Great post by Jeorge Bird guessing he did not know about Aneke getting injured.

JET makes the bench for Cardiff and Lansbury in the bench for Norwich. Watt and Eastmond dont even make Leeds and Millwall benchs.

Watt is still injured.

JET just scored

I think it was a header. Now he scored he might get back in to there starting line up.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/reserves-news/arsenal-at-the-dallas-cup-2011-preview?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arsenal-news+%28News+Feed%29&utm_content=Twitter

Arsenal’s youngsters will pit their wits against some of the best youth teams in the world when they travel to America for the Dallas Cup this week.

Neil Banfield and Steve Bould take a 22-man squad across the pond for an exciting adventure that will see them face an array of footballing cultures in one of the world’s elite youth tournaments.

The young Gunners, England’s sole representatives, go into a group of four teams with the top two progressing to the Semi-Finals. Arsenal kick off their campaign against local side Dallas Texans on Monday, April 17 before facing Chorrillo FC of Panama a day later.

Bolivian outfit Club Bolivar are last up in the group stages on Wednesday, meaning Arsenal face a testing schedule of three games in just four days.

Should they progress past their ‘Super Group’, they could meet European giants Barcelona, Eintracht Frankfurt or the Japanese Under-18 national team for a place in the Final.

For Banfield, the competition will play a key role in the development of the next generation of Arsenal stars.

“It’s a tournament we’ve been invited to and Liam Brady has decided to accept the invitation to give our lads some exposure to different styles of football and to be involved in a very good competition,” he told Arsenal.com.

“It’s going to be a great experience; looking at diverse styles of football, travelling away and playing a number of games in a short space of time. These are all things the players will come up against that maybe they aren’t used to. So it will be a good test for us.

“But it’s the whole aspect of it and not just the football side. Learning to get over one game and preparing for the next game is a continuation of their development process.

“It’s a really tough tournament and we are looking forward to testing our tactics and skills against these teams.”

The squad of 22 making the trip will be largely drawn from Banfield’s Reserve side and, with a wealth of Academy players making up the bulk of the current second string, the Arsenal side has a youthful look to it. But there is a dash of first-team experience in the shape of Conor Henderson, captain Ignasi Miquel and the returning Emmanuel Frimpong.

James Shea, along with Rhys Murphy, doesn’t meet the tournament’s age requirements meaning young Argentine Damien Martinez and Sean McDermott will jostle for a place between the posts.

“It was Steve [Bould]’s group and I’ve taken them on. It’s the group that we have both worked with over the last 18 months. It’s a development group that we are taking to Dallas with some first-year scholars and some second-year scholars that have been in the Reserves,” explained Banfield.

“We will be a young group but that’s the way we do things at this Club and that’s the way we look to the future with the development of our players.”

Young squad or not, Banfield knows the team will be representing Arsenal Football Club. With that in mind, he expects the players to give everything and return to north London with the trophy.

“Of course, wherever we go and whatever we do, we want to win. That’s what being a top player at Arsenal is all about.

“You have to be a winner and we will go there trying our hardest to win the competition. It should be a good trip and we are looking forward to it.”

Arsenal squad (in order of squad number)

1. Damian Martinez
2. Sead Hajrovic
3. George Brislen-Hall
4. Emmanuel Frimpong
5.Daniel Boateng
6. Ignasi Miquel
7. Roarie Deacon
8. Oguzhan Ozyakup
9. Jeffrey Monakana
10. Conor Henderson
11. Luke Freeman
12. Kyle Ebecilio
13. Sean McDermott
14. Jamie Edge
15. Martin Angha
16. Elton Monteiro
17. Josh Rees
18. Alban Bunjaku
19. Samir Bihmoutine
20. Callum Webb
21. Jordan Wynter
22. Zak Ansah

That team looks really good. Good mixture of resevres and under 18's.

Be interseting how the under 18's perform at this event and i am really excited to see how Alban Bunjaku performs there seems to be alot of hype around him and of what i have seen of him its seems to be well place. The guy seems to do everything so effortlesly.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13058238.stm

Interview with JET after his goal vs Sheffield. Worth a read, one of the more mature interviews I have seen with JET. I still think he has a future here due to his range of skills, strength, finishing and speed. He'll definitely need to score a couple more goals though at Cardiff.

From reading the interview seems focus on getting Cardiff to the premiership. Any one know what position he played last night?

needs to work for his team, get involved in the play and be a little less selfish then he has a future with arsenal

Agree he can be selfish. He to good for the reserves we all know it. Still needs to work on his fitness as well but AW even said that.

Bar Henri Lansbury, all the other players out on loan should stay on loan or be sold. We need to add experience to our squad now.

Project Youth must be declared dead.

Bar Henri Lansbury, all the other players out on loan should stay on loan or be sold. We need to add experience to our squad now.

Project Youth must be declared dead.

Ridiculous statement, imagine if Barca had said that 7 years ago.

Bar Henri Lansbury, all the other players out on loan should stay on loan or be sold. We need to add experience to our squad now.

Project Youth must be declared dead.

It's all about a 'hybrid' system of bringing through youth and also acquiring very good first teamers from other clubs using money.

On loan Bartley, Lansbury and Ryo have excelled and will eventually get a chance with the squad. That's where the project succeeds, it brings in cheap players who have an affinity to the club.

Where our project has failed in recent years has been in placing too much faith in the youngsters. As fans we love to see Henderson and Gibbs get games, and against decent opposition like Orient. I just don't think the fans want to see untested youngsters in crucial games.

The project has to have balance, and it does seem that it is starting to become more balanced eventually.

One of the articles above said Oguzhan Ozyakup hasn't signed a contract.

That's bad news, right, because he's one of our talented players?