As Arsenal begin their pre-season training on Monday, Arsène Wenger will be meeting with Academy directors Liam Brady and David Court along with coach Neil Banfield to discuss the futures of several Reserve team players.
Earlier in the summer many of the Under 16 players were promoted to Steve Bould’s Under 18’s, and yesterday the current crop of Under 18 boys were given professional contracts, and will now become Reserves regulars. That means many of the players who lined up for Neil Banfield’s side last year, will either become first team players, or will be released.
Fran Mérida, Håvard Nordtveit and Vito Mannone have already penned long term deals, but doubts remain over ten other 18/19 year olds, who are left sweating over their futures. Defenders Gavin Hoyte, Paul Rodgers, Kerrea Gilbert, Rene Steer and Abu Ogogo, along with midfielders Mark Randall, Kieran Gibbs, James Dunne, and forwards Jay Simpson, Vincent van Den Berg could all be forced to find new clubs this summer.
Wenger has already hinted he has plans for Randall and Gibbs, but with the signing of Aaron Ramsey, and the proposed transfer of Amaury Bischoff, the initial idea of promoting them seems to have been shelved. The pair spent half of the last campaign on loan, and both confirmed they would like to extend the spells.
Vincent van den Berg and Jay Simpson also finished the season on loan, and whilst Vincent is all but certain to leave, Simpson has previously admitted his desire to stay. It seems Paul Rodgers is already planning for life after football, after spending the summer working with his music label, despite another solid campaign in a variety of defensive positions.
The most likely and realistic option of what will happen to the squad is shown below.
Promoted – Vito Mannone, Fran Mérida, Håvard Nordtveit
Loaned – Mark Randall, Kieran Gibbs, (Gavin Hoyte?)
Released – Rodgers, Gilbert, Steer, Ogogo, Dunne, van den Berg, Simpson
Article By – J.Sanderson
First and is qpr not meant to be after simpson and watford are ment to be after Randall and gibbs all of these are meant to be permanent not loans
I have heard previously that Gavin Hoyte is highly rated by the coaching staff, is that still the case?
Will Nacer continue in the reserves JS? Or maybe a loan spell?
y let them go, they coould b the nxt best thing
Paul Rodgers is brilliant. Why would he be released
What about Lansbury?
What happened to Kerrea Gilbert? A few seasons back there was talk of him being a permanent RB for us for years to come. I really expected big things from him.
Also what’s Gavin Hoyte like? Is he average like his brother or is there a lot of potential?
Players have to be released, so the new crop of players can come through. Otherwise you just have loads of players, and most of them are not playing.
Meanwhile, Gunners youngster Vincent van den Berg has emerged as a target for Dutch second tier side FC Zwolle, following a previous loan spell with Go Ahead Eagles last season.
The 19-year-old, who played in the first ever game at Emirates Stadium for Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial, could now return to his homeland again according to FC Zwolle boss Jan Everse.
“At FC Zwolle there is always room for talented young players,” Everse told Voetbal International.
“We will try to help with his development. That is because we are a team that wants to play attacking football and in such an environment you can develop as a player.”
very interesting.
Could Randall be released? Wenger has included him in the last two pre season training sessions.
Could any of the players mentioned stay with the U18?
I think wenger and his team are right to be ruthless with the players they dont beleive can make it in the Arsenal first team. But a lot of them could make it elsewhere in the prem or championship and make good livings from football. Unless you are standing head and shoulders above your peers then chances are you wont make it at Arsenal. The hot prospects in my mind include Barazite, Wilshere, Nortdveit, Gibbs, Lansbury, Bartley and Merida.
Can’t see Randall being let go. He looked really good when he came on against Sunderland in the last game of the season.
He looks to have that extra bit of class that is need.
Fingers crossed for him!
er, do you not look at the club website? Jay Simpson one of 6 given professional contracts YESTERDAY!
JS, with the demand for our players and a queue of clubs lining up to pay top dollar for them, would it not make sense to hold on to a player like J.Simpson to sell him on for a profit?
I don’t understand why after investing so much money into the development of the kids that they are released for free or very little money?!
Arsene has a very good opinion on Mark Randall. I’ll expect him to be promoted alongside Merida, Nordveit and Vito Mannone
Gavin Hoyte is a shorter more error prone defender than his brother
Wenger seems to rate randall so i doubt he would be released. I would actully like him to stay with us for next season. Judging by what he did vs Sunderland in just 10 mins, he could become a bit of a super-sub.
J, will Barazite become a member of the first team next season?
I also remember being very impressed with Gibbs in the Emirates cup last year and was delighted when he started vs Sheffield in the CC but failed to make much of an impression.
I really rate Paul Rodgers, it would be a massive shame to see him go. However, Hoyte and co. have all got on the first team bench ahead of Rodgers, so it appears he is not as highly rated by the Arsenal staff as he is by me.
My guess is that the ones who will definatly stay are:
Barazite, Merida, Randall, Gibbs, Traore and Nordtveit
The ones i hope will stay but im not sure about are:
Mannone, Hoyte and perhaps Simpson, cuz i still think hes worth another season.
I agree with you on Paul Rodgers a very hard working defender first kind of defender.Will be a good free signing for a Championship club,Can do a good job anywhwere along the back
Sorry but GO AHEAD EAGLES. That has to be a piss take team i mean come on!!!
why the Arsenal FC allways plays with its fans heart. Why didnt they announced Nasri/Amouri why ?
God knows, mate.
who is responsible for this AW may be
And Arsene Knows…
Gavin Hoyte is a shorter more error prone defender than his brother
The Daddy said this on July 2, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Is that possible lol
randall and gibbs defenitely will stay. he the closest from reserve players to be in first team. that’s why wenger gave him prem league debut last season. gibbs might actually have to leaves but maybe wenger and the player himself willing to wait until he good enough to play for first team
“Sorry but GO AHEAD EAGLES. That has to be a piss take team i mean come on!!!”
Well actually between the first and second world war they were one of the most successful clubs in holland, winning the Eredivisie 4 times, plus they’ve produced players such as:
Bosvelt, Kromkamp, De Zeeuw and most notably Overmars in recent years, and often play a part in bringing throu young dutch hopefuls from bigger clubs by taking them on loan.
No their not a big club (anymore, and havent been for a long time), but in terms of development of youth players they play their role in Holland.
Henk ten Cate also came from the Eagles and although as a player he never left a mark on the football world hes done alot in managment terms (hes the recently sacked…and employed for that matter assistant manager of Chelsea).
Kerrea Gilbert looked far better than Justin Hoyte when he got his chance in the first team, so it’s still strange why Justin Hoyte got a contract???
I think Kerrea Gilbert left his loan club this season after a row with the manager so maybe it’s an attitude problem??
I think they may keep on an extra defender too.
Whichever they feel is the most promising I guess.
“I think Kerrea Gilbert left his loan club this season after a row with the manager so maybe it’s an attitude problem??”
It almost definatly is, he looked great when he was youngr and had that spell in the first team, but EVERY time hes gone on loan hes fallen out with the staff, limiting his playing oppertunities, and (although this is just speculation) its not unlikely hes had similar falling outs at Arsenal. Plus i really dont think hes coem on much in the last few years, just hasnt improved.
“I think they may keep on an extra defender too.
Whichever they feel is the most promising I guess.”
Yea id say that likely, probably be Gavin Hoyte partly cuz of his brother and partly cuz of the promise hes always shown. Physically hes great (although i still dont see him as a centre back), technically he still needs to improve, but decent height, reasonably strong, the fastest player at the club (including Walcott, and thats official, heard it on Arsenal.com”.
what about Szczesny,Barazite and Fonte? I would guess Szczesny will stay in teh reserves, Barazite to go out on loan and Fonte to be sent back to sporting.
What about Gilles Sunu? I think that he could very well go on to be something similar to henry from when i’ve seen him play. He’s fast, strong, skillful and the one thing he seems to have that henry didn’t so much, is the ability to head the ball. And yet, noone else seems to rate him.
Didn’t know Gilbert had fallen out with other clubs on loan too.
Makes sense though on why he’ll leave.
I haven’t seen enough of Gavin Hoyte to comment.
I guess it depends if Wenger brings anymore players in too.
Right now in the reseves they do look a bit light in defence though imo.
When Gilbert was on loan at southend, he was playing for their reserves and ‘exchanged words’ with the coach & was promptly substituted and hardly played for them again. The main problem was that he wasn’t long into his loan spell & therefore spent the bulk of the rest of his loan out of their team wasting his career.
I heard that although the injury was the main reason a falling out with the staff at Cardiff also contibuted to the reason he failed to hold down a place after coming back from the injury.
Sry, i feel guilty for bringing this up but do u think we’ll hear anything about Nasri today? Its July, new financial year and Marsielle have Ben Afra so that should leave the move completely open now, any chance it’ll be announced today or will it have to be finalised and therefore we wont hear anything until tomorrow?
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I thought Rodgers improved alot but maybe it wasn’t good enough.
Jay simpson might be kept on but with other signings maybe its best for him to move on but Randall I truly think he would be world class if he gets the time.
Fonte will be staying next season, and then in the summer we will decide if we want to buy him.
To the person who said Simpson was given a contract yesterday, your wrong that was Jay Thomas.
Gilbert’s attitude has been the main problem, he went to lower clubs, and thought because he is from Arsenal he should play more.
Szczesny is an Under 18 player, and will be Reserves number one next year
What’s the situation with Rui Fonte? Is he going to be at the club next season?
crikey, you answered my question as I was writing it!
Ethan – see the comment above :D
Cescy – cheers for the info, i have added an article on that
http://youngguns.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/fc-zwolle-trial-arsenal-youngster-van-den-berg/
hahah ;)
Johnny Maverik! The final is coming! :D Just keep the faith!
If Rodgers is seen has a CB @ the club then he might be released but if he is seen as a full back then there is no way he will be released. He has impressed me immensely as full back but error prone as CB and for a young player, he has incredible drive which also helps if you are trying to make it @ a club like Arsenal.
LOL The Istres leads…
I STILL want Gilbert to be given a run in the first time – when he impressed 2 and a half years ago he was immense, reminded me of a young Ashley Cole with that drive and toughness. I’m so pissed off at him more than any other player for fucking it all up.
So if Szczesny is reserves number 1 what will Mannone be? Carling Cup keeper?
mannone will probably be CC keeper with Fabianski. He will probably be goalie in the reserves as usual too.
“mannone will probably be CC keeper with Fabianski. He will probably be goalie in the reserves as usual too.”
Probably, i atticipate him to make his dabut in the CC this season thou, he’ll probably play a couple of games in the ealier rounds as Fabianski will be getting the FA cup this seaosn (although whether he’ll stay in if we come up against Utd again or the likes im not so sure).
David can you not read? Simpson was not one of the 6. Oh dear.
I rate Traore for sure. he has got the attributes to do well. I think as a winger he is most suited. he needs to continue working hard and not beleive he has made it just yet and then he has a good chance.
Gilbert isn’t good enough he didn’t have any notable impact while out on loan so I can’t see how he will make it with the talent we currently have at FB.
so Jamie what do you think that the first team will be next year for the Reserves based on what you just said?
I’nm sorry to say from reading your article you don’t appear to know how Arsenal actually work. They do not sign a player on pro forms only for them to release the player a few months later. That is not how they work. They look at the player a lot before handing out a pro contract.
Are you aware that a player can for example remain a scholar for three seasons before the club have to decide whether to keep them or not? Usually Arsenal decide the future of a player before the end of the second season as a scholar.
I think the usual length of pro contracts for a lot of young professionals at Arsenal is 2 full seasons so for the scholars who signed pro forms during last season I think they’ll expire at the end of 2009/10 season.
As Vincent Van Den Berg signed pro forms with Arsenal in July 2006 his contract is probably due to end this month so as things have not gone well with him, it looks like he will be released.
I think Kerrea Gilbert’s contract was renewed a season or so ago but I cannot recall the length of it but I’m sure his contract must be coming to an end. He is a player that doesn’t seemed to have progressed the way they had hoped so with that in mind they probably won’t award him with a new contract so he’ll either be released at the end of his current contract or they’ll sell him.
I don’t think you’ll find any of the following leaving the club: Steer, Rodgers, Fonte, Sunu, G Hoyte, Gibbs, Nordtvelt, Barazite, Traore, Manone, Dunne, Merida, Randall, Szczesny, Ogogo or Simpson.
ABC – All the points you made i have already covered.
Van den Berg will be leaving as announced in the later article, and Kerrea Gilbert signed a four year deal when he left for Cardiff.
Just because a player is under contract does not mean it will not be cancelled, so you clearly have no clue. I confirmed Fonte, Sunu, Nordtveit, Barazite, Traore, Mannone, Merida, Szczesny will not be going so where you got that from is beyond belief.
As for the rest, the club need to make space for the next group of players as you will know if you know anything about the club, and all the players mentioned have players ahead of them
Think before posting
well, on the list you mentioned, I think that you can be certain that Gibbs and Randall will stay. Both have had first team action this season, and both spend some time on loan. Even if Ramsey and Nasrey and Bischoff arriving, dont forget that Flamini has left, Hleb will probably. walcott has also been pushed forward, so there is in reality as many spots as last year..
The guy who fascinates me for the immediate future is Barazite.
Will we see him at all with the first team this year?
Amongst the list you mentioned are some excellent young players, most of whom will have some sort of pro career. But I’ve watched them all many times and I don’t consider any of the ‘loanee’ ‘released’ players loisted above, are of the top quality international standard of player that you need to be to get in the Arsenal team.
The only exception may be Randall, whom I’ve never rated as highly as clearly the Arsenal coaching staff always have.
As J. says you’ve got to make room for the next lot, there’s a lot of talent there also.
James Dunne is a fantastic player. It would be a mistake to let him leave the club IMO
J, you are correct that a club can cancel the registartion of a player but in reality that only happens in exceptional circumstances. It is not something that really ever happens at Arsenal. The Arsenal hierarchy always think long and hard before offering pro contracts to young scholars. A player has to earn his contract at the club so that is why it is hard to see them cancelling a contract.
As I stated in my previous post Arsenal can keep a player as a scholar for up to three seasons before having to make a final decision one way or another. The fact that Rene Steer, Rodgers, G. Hoyte, Gibbs, Dunne and Ogogo were all offered pro forms during the second year of being scholar is testament to how well they are thought of at the club. Clearly, most of them will unfortunetely fail to make the grade at Arsenal but the fact that the club have signed them on pro forms is prove in itself that Arsenal feel they have the ability to progress through the ranks.
Liam Brady and his fellow coaches are fully aware of players coming through the ranks so it is not logical for them to award a player with a pro form if they think they might cancel it in a few months time simply because of the quality of the new first year scholars. If Arsenal were to cancel contracts all you would get is a lot of resentment and this would make some players think twice about signing for the club. As well as that I’m sure Peter Hill Wood wouldn’t be impressed if we started cancelling contracts, as cancelled contracts equals financial loss.
You are correct in stating that a number of players are in front of them but at the same time you would expect that at a big club. At a lot of clubs second year scholars play mostly in the u18’s which is not the case with the current bunch at Arsenal. At the end of the day it is up to each player to be self motivated to keep improving and to lay claim to the jersey. Oh, and looking at my Arsenal handbooks from the past few seasons tells me that they have in the past had more players on the books as scholars/young pros than they currently do so I don’t think they’ll need to make any space at all mate.
To put it simply Arsenal would not offer a pro contract to a youngster if they felt they had no hope of progressing at the club.
And yes, I always think before I post. Thought I’d point that out lol. Only time will tell who is right seeing as you appear to have a totally different view.
There’s a simple solution to this debate. Seb Larsson (£1m must be worth £6m + now so thats a minimum £2m sell on fee ) Fabrice Muamba (£4m + £5.5m so total to Arsenal @£5.75m) Matt Connolly (? £!m +) Bendtner (kept on and must be worth £10 million plus, given current prices and a decent replacement for Ade if he goes). I think history shows that those players coming up from the reserves who aren’t automatically earmarked for the 1st team will be given the chance for a decent loan spell before being considered being let go or kept on. Am I the only one to think that Nacer Barazite is overrated?
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