Last week Young Guns asked for you to vote for various player awards, to celebrate the achievements of Arsenal’s Reserves and Youth teams during this campaign. The awards were all chosen by you our readers and dedicated fans. You can see the below the winners of the prizes.
There were six catogries and six awards up for grabs, in different sections and aspects of the Reserves & Youth system. They were as follows.
Player Of The Year –
Reserves Player Of The Year –
Under 18s Player Of The Year –
Loanee Of the Year –
Goal Of The Year –
Worst Player Of The Year –
The biggest award of overall player of the season, has been won by Nacer Barazite after a superb season for the 17 year old which ended up with him being included on the bench for the final Premiership game of the season against Sunderland yesterday.
Over 20 goals including hat-tricks for the Under 18s, has seen Barazite become one of the most talked about prospects in England. Other votes came for Goalkeepers Szczesny and Mannone as well as captain Havard Nordtveit.
However Nacer won by 20 clear votes, a fantastic achievement and definitely a player to watch out for next season.
Collecting his second award, and in his first season as a Reserves regular, forward Nacer Barazite has become the main source of goals for Neil Banfields side. If he is not scoring them he is making them with all the class and style Arsenal fans are used to.
Its easy to forget he is just 17 years old, yet is already one of brightest prospect for club and country. 2008 also saw Nacer make his debut for Holland’s Under 19s where he currently has 2 goals in 2 games.
Massive congratulations for Nacer on both awards collected.
This season has seen Jack Wilshere go from Under 16s captain, to training full time with the first team in an incredible year for the little play-maker.
He finished his breakthrough campaign with a double figure goal tally, and recently collected the “player of the tournament” award during the Atalanta Cup. Wilshere who is only 16 has impressed manager Arsene Wenger who has confirmed his promotion to the first team for next season.
Other votes came for Szczesny, Frimpong and Rhys Murphy but Wilshere collected the prize with over 80% of the overall vote.
Young Guns readers have voted Carlos Vela as the Loanee of the year for 2008. This award was the closest of the bunch with just one vote separating the Mexican, and Jay Simpson.
There was one vote for Fran Merida, however all the other votes came for either Vela or Simpson with the race for the award being really close throughout. Congratulations to Carlos and all the other loanees on a mixed campaign for the loan players.
Jack Wilshere collected his second award in a break through season for the England Under 17 International, with his stunning goal at Underhill against West Ham United, winning comfortably over Armand Traore’s long range strike against Tottenham.
Other votes also came for Nacer Barazite’s cool finish in the 5-1 romp over Derby, but Wilshere’s left footed 25 yard curling shot was rated by you as the best overall. Congratulations to Jack on his second award in what has been a superb season for the starlet.
Vincent Van Den Berg has been voted Young Guns worst player of the season. Vincent won the award by two votes from James Dunne and Kerrea Gilbert who led a list which included summer signings Kyle Bartley and Gilles Sunu.
Van Den Berg has spent the second half of the season on loan at Go Ahead Eagles, but is set to have his contract cancelled with Arsenal during the next two months. Many were excited about Vincent who people compared with former Gunners legend Marc Overmars. But he has failed to settle in London, and after many poor performances was shipped out on loan as mentioned.
I would say congratulations, but i guess its not something anybody wants to win.
The Complete List Of Award Winners
Player Of The Year – Nacer Barazite
Reserves Player Of The Year – Nacer Barazite
Under 18s Player Of The Year – Jack Wilshere
Loanee Of the Year – Carlos Vela
Goal Of The Year – Jack Wilshere V West Ham
Worst Player Of The Year – Vincent van Den Berg
Thank you for everybody who voted, if you have any ideas of how to improve the awards or any new categories you would like to see next year leave your comments below.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Maybe next year you could do a Break through award to the person who has made the biggest break through into the first team. e.g. this year it would probably be Bendtner where as last year would have been Denilson. Its only a suggestion but it could be a widely contested award as many of the youngsters are going to play in the CC this year.
Superb idea John, i will consider that for next term.
Worst player? I don’t think there’s any real need for that. What can be possibly gained by demoralising a young lad, regardless of whether they’re at the club next year or not. Sorry, a cheap shot.
JohnV – erm, no.
I think we need to remove the worst player award…
He is a professional footballer FFS, if he cannot take critism or fans opinion then he is the wrong business
Fair results I must say. In fairness Gilbert nor Van Den Berg havent done much so wrst title serves as pull yer socks up mates. Still neither of them will be with us next season.
Thanks for your coverage this season JS, you have made my time at work far more interesting that normal!!
At the moment who would you say from the Reserves/Youth will be travelling with the 1st team for pre-season?
Cheers
Ah no problem mate, next season will be our first full campaign so im excited about sharing it with you guys.
Randall & Traore always go with the first team, this time Merida and Gibbs will to. Traore is expected to go on loan to Portsmouth so Gibbs should replace him.
yes but he’s just a kid.. imagine you get the worst blogger when you’re just out with your first blog at 15-16
Van der Berg is just a kid. He’s not earning millions, and we don’t pay £60 to watch him play. This isn’t necessary. He’s obviously a talented player, he just hasn’t been able to show it since coming over. Calling him out like this is really just unkind. If you decide to persist with it, and that’s obviously your prerogative, at least consider changing the title to ‘most disappointing’ or something. Then it would be more the player who hasn’t lived up to expectations the most and you could write it with hope for improvement, rather than basically castigating the worst player.
Interesting news on Traore, if he gets plenty of games Pompey could be a good move for him for the short-term. Does that mean Arsene could be looking for a left back? I know Gibbs played there in the CC but he couldnt be 2md choice behind Clichy.
Do you have any info on Ben Arfa?
Worst player of the year really isnt necesary, we dont need to go aroung demorilsing our youngsters, I would absouloutly hate being told im the worst player in our team, especially over the internet. As others have said, hes just a kid and we arnt paying loads to watch him.
Ur not going to be demoralising them… they won’t be reading this site will they u muppets!!!!!????
Worst Player is a terrible award. Vincent is a young lad who has moved to a foreign country at a young age and has not settled in he doesn’t need that kind of negativity. The award saddens me as I thought this was a site championing the youth and reserves.
Yeh, it think a change of the award to Most dissapointing might be better as :
1. Its not as destructive to the youngstars confidence
2. Would encourage them to work had knowing that there are expectations which they did not meet
The idea is right anyway, but the award just feels like criticism which is not encouraging, and i know that it wasnt you intention to do that.
By the way, Good work Sanderson. You deserve blogger of the year award. thanks
I agree you should drop the ‘worst player’ award it is not constructive at all
Most Disappointing is also demoralizing. I bet that players and their families read these websites. The players know they aren’t playing well, so let’s not rub it in. How about a Most Inspirational Player Award for a lad who has exceeded expectations and inspired his teammates?
Let the site down a bit with that. Completely unnecessary, the PFA do not bother with a worse player award and at this level it is just not appropriate. Sometimes this place is an interesting read but this just leads me to believe, it is only due to the uniqueness of it’s coverage and not the quality of it’s content. Work to do for you too it seems.
There are other blogs which cover Arsenal youth, yet people read this one as it has the quality over the others.
So that comment was “not appropriate”. Lots of people voted for the worst player. Maybe Vincent will see this and use it to motivate him to do better.
Traore to Portsmouth on loan, no flippin way!, keep him at Arsenal and blood him in the Carling and FA cup squads, he’s to good a young player to be sent out on loan to a club that will just ruin him.
As a matter of fact i don’t think we should loan players to any British club, send them to France or Spain that’s where they get the best footballing education outside of Arsenal.
Danny does make a half decent point. Let’s face it: the other youth blogs are a bit amateur compared to this one. A long summer awaits Arsenal fans desperate for good news – and there’s good tidings in abundance in the reserve and youth sides.
The point is J, that you should expect a bit more traffic over the next few months, and you’d be well advised to take advice and listen to your readership. You’re in a unique position with this blog; putting the boot into teenagers at the start of their careers lets it down a little. Otherwise, keep up the good work.
“advised to take advice…” sheesh! – but you get the message!
Some of these youngsters may not even make it in the game, let alone the club. Pick on overpaid ego-maniacs, not aspiring young lads. There has been some good work done here but don’t get carried away with yourself, it is hardly a competitive market place. Passing judgement may be fair but throwing stones is immature and in the context of who we are discussing, inappropriate. Anyway, the majority of the coverage here is valuable, that award was just not too my liking.
J.Sanderson, I think if you converted the issue to a first team player you will have a lot of support, as there is a couple of overpaid players that needs the award badly, and people would be happy to expose them, as they are not youngsters and know what they must produce for the money that they are being paid.
Agreed, Worst Player is utterly unnecessary.
Since they’re just kids, why not treat them as such? Instead of the allegedly over-critical Worst Player award, try something like they might see on their school report card.. Introducing the Must Try Harder or Need to see Improvement award.
Perhaps semantically it might offend the rose-tinted amongst you, but I thought it was a totally legitimate award. As ‘Reyes’ mentions – there are a few 1st Teamers, naming no names (Eboue, AdeBarnDoor, Senderos, Eboue, Eboue, AdeBarnDoor, Hleb the pole dancer (lots of pretty movement, no end product)).
At the end of the day – what kind of meritocracy would it be if we only look at the most encouraging/positive aspects of a youngsters development.
Football to us is fun, entertainment, sport. To professionals it is their job. Yes they have over developed egos, huge unrealistic pay packets because they haven’t experienced what it’s like in the real world. “What – you don’t live in a 13-bedroom estate in bedfordshire at the age of 19???”
In the First Team – there is too much pandering to the 13y/o Emo within the twenty-something players.
Don’t let the rot start early, and tell it like it is to the 17y/o’s in the Youths. Or they will soon think they deserver a starting berth in the first team ahead of people like (the now departed) Pires/Bergkamp/Freddie/Thierry – the way Bentley did
Btw – excellent site JS.
Alex/
j sanderson FFS