Arsène Wenger gave a handful of Arsenal’s young starlets the opportunity to play a part in the prestigious Amsterdam Tournament this evening, as the Gunners looked to press home their advantage in the competition against a physical and energetic Sevilla side.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Kieran Gibbs, Mark Randall and Jack Wilshere were joined by Aaron Ramsey in a young side, with the average age being just 20.
They got the perfect start to the game as Vela turned sharply past Mosquera before bursting down the left, shrugging off the challenge of Konko, and smashing home on his left foot from a difficult angle.
Kieran Gibbs looked bright an attentive against the tricky Jesús Navas and with Jay Thomas frequently dropping back to ‘double up’ on the Spaniard, Arsenal had neutralized his threat.
The giant Emmanuel-Thomas would then show two aspects of his game, first leaping highest to flick Vela through on goal, before coming back and putting his huge frame in front of Arouna Koné as he shaped to shoot.
The next youngster to impress was Mark Randall, as Navas found himself un-marked in the area until a last ditch slide tackle crunched the ball away – but most importantly fairly. The Sevilla bench would be furious with the the 18-year-old Randall after another tackle on Navas, but replays showed the winger make a meal of it.
Despite some late rallying from Sevilla, Arsenal took the lead into the half time break.
Half Time – Arsenal 1-0 Sevilla
The second period would be a difficult one for the young Gunners, with a barrage from Sevilla expected during the final 45 minutes of the tournament for Arsenal.
True to form the Spaniard’s did hit back, with Fabianski pulling out a handful of top draw saves to keep the slim advantage. Diego Capel would then drift in from the centre out to the left, after first skipping beyond Wilshere, Randall made sure he would holt his progress with a clumsy kick on his ankle to send the little winger crashing down.
Emmanuel-Thomas’ defending was far too casual, with Javier Chevantón and Jesús Navas both working angles to shoot in quick succession. Randall was forced to head over his own bar on the hour-mark following more pressure, this time from Koffi Ndri Romaric.
Wilshere was left alone up front to attempt to break away, but he found himself physically dominated by the powerful Sevilla back-line.
Capel worked space down the left, and as Gibbs and Thomas were sucked inside, Navas was free on the right to fire a shot well saved by Fabianski. With time ticking down the rugged Randall and the powerful Jay Thomas were both withdrawn, as Wenger looked to secure the points.
But the pressure would eventually toll on the now physically tired Arsenal. Navas who had tortured Thomas and Gibbs in the second half crossed for Chevantón to fire home from close range.
The result may have been a slightly disappointing one, but Arsenal look set to have done enough to retain the cup, whilst giving several promising players vital experience against a top team.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Pre-season is mainly for fitness and match practice, some fuckers were even slating him when they hadnt even seen the game!
I just have high hopes for Theo and am being dead defensive of the fella!
I dont want our whole History to shoved down the toilet by doing a Leeds and many more clubs by spending money that we dont have.
This is the reason why English Managers are rubbish, Buy is the only answer they know instead of developing new tactics to potect weaknesses in the team, coaching weaknesses out of players, inpiring teamtalk or man managing players better to get more out of them.
i would just like to remind every1 that only a few days ago a number of people who have said that fabainski was crap and should be sold and now are saying he should be number 1 ,bloody hell you guys change sides more than the incredible sulk
Thats the fickle world of football fans for you!
Fabregas’ Dad;
It is clear Dwayne Dibbly is biased towards Theo as he freely admits, so we may just ignore his views and immature insults.
He says nonsense like pre-season matches are just for fitness and match practice, forgetting Flamini and Fabregas struck the partnership and understanding that did us so well last season.
Theo, like Vela has got great potential but Vela seems to be applying himself more.
Although, I am not a big fan of Eboue I remember Wenger saying he plays him for the defensive balance he brings into our side. From the matches I saw of Vela last season I strongly feel he can give us this balance in addition to a more consistent creative incisiveness a Theo might not give.
Wenger:On the performance…
“Today we were very young, but in the end we learned what it is like to defend – something we are not used to – and it was a good lesson for us.”
Thats exactly the comment i gave earlier.
Goonerguy, you are so right, too many people on this blog behaving in a childish manner.
Fabregas Dad;
We should ignore anything said by the Oracle as he likes dressing in womens clothing as he freely admits.
Eboue offers us defensive cover my arse!
he’s a liability and should be used only as Sagna’s deputy.
Anyone calling themself the oracle needs to not take themselves soooo seriously FFS!
Wenger was going to play Diaby as cesc’s partner last season. meaning he had that idea BEFORE a ball was even kicked.
His untimely injury forced Wenger’s hand; there was NO ONE else to play there. Flamini did well and made it impossible for Wenger to drop him.
This pre-season, Theo has played well in certain matches and has added more to his game, he is still developing as a player in a role that is relatively new to him.
Vela has played upfront, so i don’t even understand why he is somehow Theo’s competition. Eboue certainly isn’t as he is average at best and not a serious goal threat IMO.
Nasri hopefully will play left wing, on his return, with Theo on the right and cesc and ??? in CM.
Dwayne Dibbly;
I like football I just hate dumb comments!
You have an issue with the name The Oracle but you call yourself Dwayne Dibbly?? hahahahahahahahaha
Btw keep your private life to yourself, its a football blog here
The drivel now written on here???!!!
Some of you are no doubt very young. Believe me when I say that in years to come you will realise what utter pratts people can be.Randall has a mental problem, agreed. Talent-wise he is at our level. He is a possible at the moment.Theo will struggle to be an Arse player, but is not a hopeless case- yet.AND AS FOR JS!!! How can ANY detrimental comment on a 17 year old (Thomas)be justified. He dipped his toe in the water tonight -no more than that.I saw Cruyff at Highbury in 1969 and some idiots said ‘he’s not all that is he’. Don’t fall into the trap.
Touch a nerve?
You have an issue with dumb commnets?
Simple; stop posting then.
And stop being such a boring twat, if you can.
I’m sorry for not entertaining you Dwayne, wanna try watching cbeebies?? I’m just commenting on football if that’s ok, lol.
Funny you agree with me that Flamini made an impression during the last pre-seqason matches and earned his position in the starting 11.
Wenger has compared Vela to Eduardo but he played as many matches on the left side of midfield as he did upfront last season, even though he played upfront in pre-season matches last season. So because he has played only upfront so far does not mean he would/cannot play on the left/right side of midfield. All arsenal forward player are adaptable, if you look closely!!!
If vela doesnt play upfront he will most likely play LEFT midfield. Eduardo only played there coz we had no other options and I don’t remember him doing too well there either. Shit! Diaby even played there!
Admit it, your argument is bogus!
Some oracle! :D
I said ages ago that something had to give and today imo things were sorted out. My ideas are not based on rash moments or one off displays. At the end of the day Randell is not good enough. He can pass but after that he looks stretched. I think Denilson falls into this category but the manager is seeing something we can’t. Lansbury is coming back from a serious virus but soon he really needs to buck up his ideas. At the end of the day we are gonna have a strike rate of 1 in 20 like most great academies, and if Wilshere is our man well thats good enough for me. We need to get with the idea that every man we give a chance too might no be good enough.
Oh Dwayne you contradict yourself tututut. Now you agree Vela may play other positions other than upfront.
You r a funny chap. Youve got potential just think about you arguments before you state them as this is a public forum – you may just get found out.
Its been fun :)
Oracle
Vela played left wing lasr season for Osasuna, numbnuts! Theo plays right midfield. I never said vela could NOT play in different positions, the point was he wasnt in direct competition for theo. Anyway, that aint the main point.
You really are quite dense. Think about your repostes before typing them old fruit.
Oh dear!
You lose, AGAIN!
Damn Dwaynes got it hard for Theo eh lol, bet you got posters of him wall to wall in your bedroom and matching duvet covers, and school lunchbox, because god knows from your comments you still clearly go to Primary School.
Now Dwayne lol (what a name), as for arm chair supporter you dumb prick, i bet i been more games than you could remember and most of them, i went with your mum oOOOOOOOOH, I cuseed your mum lol.
I tryed to be nice even though i knew from previous posts that you was an ignorant pr**k, who stalks my posts, but whatever.
Even Wenger admits this is a big season for Theo, every commentator pundit any arsenal fan with a brain has admitted Theo has to prove himself this year, so stop jumping on anybody who dares to question your favourite players abilities.
We are all behind the team, and i know how much you would love to be behind Theo wouldnt you, YOU SICKKKKKKKKKKK FREAK lol.
Anyway im done cussing your arse, Oracle, ignore him, he loves the attention seeing as coming on this board is his only life.
Maybe one day Mummy will actually allow you to go a game Dwayne, thats if her Job Seekers Allowance will be enough for her to pay for a ticket!!!
Dwayne:
If you did not watch Vela last season, he played more on the left but switched positions at different times – right mid or upfront.
The point is although, Walcott has been used mainly on the right side of midfield he is in competition with other similar adaptable forward players that include Vela, Nasri, Rosicky etc.
In these forward positions you cannot say who is in direct competition with whom as it would depend on the opposition and the players available. For example, playing RVP at left mid (4-5-1) away at Inter maybe better solution that playing 4-4-2!!
Resorting to petty insults is making you sound more childish you know. Are you stressed??
Ok, have another go now let’s see how you get on. lol
Wow!
How anal are you fella?
let it go, already.
You’re the one trying to switch your arguemnt every time.
And you’re the one makin a big deal of all this.
I find it funny how you are trying soooo hard to make out you arent bothered, yet its just soooo obvious you just can’t let it slide.
Move on,
UKMIKES
had too many cola cubes have you?
That sugar given you an energy rush, thinking you will look dead hard on an internet blog site?
You’re an irrelevant inadequate fuckwit, who obviously has issues around his sexuality.
Come out the closet, you’ll feel loads better.
BTW; I go home and away supporting the Arsenal.
Why don’t we meet up at the grove, shall i give you directions.
We can continue this there if you like, tough guy.
BTW
What the fuck did i actually post that caused you to say all that purile shite you cunt?
dwayne and oracle- really if i wanted to hear from a butt i would have farted. please take your low intellect, mind numbingly boring differences elsewhere and let some real adults try to do some analysis. thank you! :) btw anyone who seriously tries to criticize theo based m ten mins is a tool
Sry Jay but i recon ur assessment if Randall was a bit off. He didnt impress me much and i recon if that’d been a professional game and not a relativley meaningless pre-season tournament he’d have been sent off and given away a penalty.
Hes impressed me in the past and i still think hes got potential, even if he doesnt make it at Arsenal he’ll make it in the premiership. I think hes quite similar to O’Hara which maybe explains why we werent too pushy about lettin him go to spuds. But over this pre-season ive come to the conclusion that hes a year off being ready still. Carlin Cup experiance as a sub and another loan move is whats best for him this season.
Good all round performance and against a side of Sevilla’s cailbre 1-1 is an outstanding result for a side that was made up of back up players and youth prospects. Fabianski did brilliantly, Gibbs did ok playing in what must still be a relativley unfamiliar position for him against one of the trickiest wingers in La Liga, Djourou and Sendaros gave decent performances, Wilshire once again looks miles above what ud expect from a player of his age and experiance and Vela was very good, needs to work on his timing and descision making but that’ll come quickly with experiance.
As for this theo vela argument. I dont see the point, Vela is a forward who can play left wing and Theo a forward who can play left wing. Personally id like Theo as the first pick right wing next season cuz all he needs is to develop his consistancy, and he can only do that with a run in the first team. Eboue played ok yesterday but im still convinced he should be considered back-up to both Theo and Sagna. Look at it this way, we know when Theo is on his game he will create or score a goal, so if he becomes more consistant we will have something very very dangerious at our disposal. As for Vela, he can get experiance on the left, althou i think Rosicky and Nasri should be ahead of him, and as back-up to Van Persie, which should give him enough games to gain the nessesariy experiance and make the improvements in his already very impressive individual capabilities..
one thing for sure this team don’t win shyte agin. we no have big money no more. we pay highest prices and no transfer moneis. why we pay for? where all money go? people who like status quo is masochist fan, very stupid, very bad. Mr. Bibbly, you maybe be theo’s girlfriend, you kiss him too much.
Even if Randall can never make it at Arsenal then he should be developed to the best of his ability and then sold for a decent transfer fee. Getting rid of him now will not do him or Arsenal any good as they will be giving him away for nothing. If players like Dunne, Steer and Ogogo are still in the reserves then Randall shouldn’t be sold. Let him develope at Arsenal or on loan untill 21-22 then sell him.
Wenger: “I may let one or two go on loan because they need to play,” he said. “It is part of their education.
My prediction are Lansbury & Barazite
I think Randall and Barazite, however I havent been impressed with Randall o Lansbury in the pre season, Barazite on the other hand looks electric.
http://theworldsmostbeautifulgame.wordpress.com/
Does anybody appreciate that our team, which was 50% CC & 50% young reserves, held the team that has won the Uefa Cup 2 x in the last 3 years, to a very creditable draw?
I was obviously going to be a hard task & it was expected that we would be overrun at times.
It was not a game to say that so & so is no good or vi-ca verse. What we saw was, as a team, they showed an Arsenal resilience. This is particularly important when you consider that there would have been some very tired legs out there.
Some will make it, some won’t. The only way you really find out is when they have a decent run, in the side, to see them play with real confidence.
It is up to AW & his staff to know, who has that ability to eventually be an Arsenal player, not any of us armchair experts.
I implore all of the gloomers, to stop thinking that they are being constructive, with their advice. You are the opposite & in fact the biggest danger to our eventual success. Just look at the pundits for what they are, with very few exceptions, failed managers or not even good enough to have a go at it.
There will be 11 players starting against Twente & I will be cheering each & every 1 of them, because that is what supporters do.
I second that, Flint. Plus when these maligned players play with stronger players around them, these stronger players make a more secure platform, within which the likes of Randall etc. are better able to show their own strengths. When the whole team is as inexperienced and as undeveloped as the one that played against Saville, they are ironically, under more pressure, not less. I do think though, that Randall in particular, needs to raise his game.
From the one time I saw the Man City midfielder Michael Johnson play, I thought he would be a fantastic replacement for Flamini. Has anyone seen him more than once who might know what it is about him, that means we have never been linked with him?
If you had to make a decision about Randall, I might agree with yo Mingus, but the kid is 18, not fully developed physically, which is why he struggled last night. He played very well at Huddersfield, dictating the game, after making a shaky start.
Lansbury will need a lot of time to get back to his best because, from my own knowledge (albeit too many years ago), it is a debilitating illness that leaves you lacking energy for many months. Don’t expect him to at his best for some time.
I make the point about Lansbury, because we may not know even 1/2 of what may be going on, behind the scenes.
Mingus: “Michael Johnson to replace Flamini.” Doesnt that show your lack of knowledge, Johnson is a promising attcking or box-to-box midfielder not DM.
Flint McCullough: “It is up to AW & his staff to know, who has that ability to eventually be an Arsenal player, not any of us armchair experts.” I wouldnt declare myself an expert and i am definately not an armchair fan but i can @ least come up with meaningful analysis
Also, I only choose Barazite & Lansbury to go out on loan purely based on Henri & Nacer havnt been on loan yet, out of the attacking players from the FA Youth Cup run. Merida, Randall, Gibbs & Simpson hav
the whole damn team is over-rated, fack, why can we buy some real playes. theo’s attitude sucks, there’s turnmoil in the squad and wenger is frustrated as shyte he’s got no money to spend and no idea who to spend it on. wenger is scared shyteless of twente? fack, what’s next. we need big housecleaning and buy some facking adults who know how to win, this squad ain’t won shyte in four years and they won’t win shyte in another four, fack!!
fanzo, no doubt mate, we need to clear out the below par players like hoyte and several others. we didn’t move to a new stadium to screw ourselves over, but it looks like that’s exactly what we’ve done. good work board. we’ll probably finish top four in spite of all but any titles or trophies is way out of reach for this squad.
I CANT BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A MIDFIELD INJURY CRISIS ALREADY…
WE HAVE TO PLAY FC TWENTE IN AN IMPORTANT GAME….AND THE ONLY PROPER MIDFILDER’S IS DENILSON AND A UNFIT FABREGAS – REMEMBER FABREGAS HAS ONLY PLAYED 1 PRE SEASON GAME….
ISIT JUSS ME….OR IS THAT SHOCKING MANAGING BY ARSENE WENGER TO ALLOW DAT TO HAPPEN ALREADI.
SO THE TEAM TO TEAM TO PLAY FC TWENTE
ALMUNIA,SAGNA,TOURE,GALLAS,CLICHY
WALCOTT,DENILSON,FABREGAS,VELA OR NASRI
VAN PERSIE, ADEBAYOR
HMMM I HOPE DENILSON AND FABREGAS CAN COPE IN MIDFIELD.
SET PIECES FROM TWENTE ARE GOING TO SCARE ME….BUT THATS ENOUGH QUALITY TO WIN….HOPEFULLY
What were the new numbers for the reserves players? I know Gibbs wore 40