For those who follow the youth team closely, Emmanuel Frimpong has always been a boy with a lot of potential. Last night, he showed he is a man with potential.
The ink was barley dry on his new professional contract ahead of the F.A Youth Cup Quarter-Final at White Hart Lane, but the Ghanaian born powerhouse showed exactly why Liam Brady moved so quickly to secure his long-term future.
If it wasn’t for Emmanuel, Arsenal wouldn’t have won last night. Poor defending allowed Spurs the opportunity to take the lead, but after the opener, they were prepared to sit back and match the Gunners in a 4-5-1 formation. It meant each side had equal numbers in the middle of the park, and the winners of that battle would ultimately control the fixture.
Frimpong, alongside the also brilliant Coquelin, swung the balance back in favor of the visitors. He showed the usual aggression and tenacity in the tackle, but not content with that, the England Under 17 International didn’t misplace a pass all night. He was a shining light in the middle of the park, and helped keep the tempo high to ware down Tottenham – who were forced to chase the ball for most of the evening.
The last thing the midfielder needs is stupid comparisions, because he has the talent to become an Arsenal star in his own right.
The future is coming.
Article By – J.Sanderson
I know we shouldn’t start overhyping these lads but the midfield we had yesterday was predominately English and they really did look special. I felt gutted when I saw that bould said that he expects one of frimpong and coquelin to make it to the first to as if to say there’s not enough room for them both because those two at 25 in the middle would be awesome.
Gotta say m8 spot on with that! I don’t get to see too many non senior games so rely onyou for info, but frimpong, coquelin and jet impressed me. Good to see cm with some aggression in there. The only down side was the fb imo, but shouldn’t complain too much with botelho due in nxt season.
He’s got a good attitude on the pitch, not off it though.
Frimpong and Thomas impressed me last night, let’s see if they can guide us all the way to the final.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Coquelin, Wilshire and Frimpong are Arsenal future.
P.s. J. I met Jay Simpson on Tuesday at the Westbrom v Arsenal game and i asked him if he’s looking forward to returning to Arsenal once his loan spell is over and he said he couldn’t wait. His words were ‘boy i can’t wait to be in a Red and White shirt’.
He seems like a nice young lad with his head screwed on
dean: when frimpong/francis are 25, Denilson will be 28, Ramsey 26, Manu Thomas 26, Diaby might have learnt to be good, ditto Song, Lansbury could still be here if he applies himself… not to mention the possibility of Nasri moving inside and Cesc never leaving to Spain. And any new signings. Or our current 14 year olds having the next Cesc who deserves to be started at 19 or whatever. And Merida. The possibility of Rosicky and/or Arshavin doing a Scholes/Giggs and still being impeccable at 35 but moving inside because they no longer have the pace to be a winger.
The almost limitless potential of our future is a bit overwhelming if anyone actually takes the time to think about it. If both Frimpong and Coquelin apply themselves and work hard throughout all the hype, through all the impracticalities, prove themselves worthy to pretty much the toughest crowd in the premiership, and do it week in week out – good bloody luck to them.
Remember, they both 17 (i think). Considering the wealth of CM potential we have right now (already gaining week-in-week-out premiership experience – which will eventually kick in – look at Ablongahor and co), some of these youngsters may have to wait till 23 like most youngsters to get a regular spot. So add patience to the list.
Next years Carling Cup team looks like it may be the best since our current first team went to the final. Deadweight like Steer, Silvestre and Randall will not have a chance – it’s proper survival of the fittest stuff from now on if this last FA Youth Cup game, and our build up of youngsters (remember those on loan this season like Pedro and Nordtveit will be involved next time) will mean that our state of the art youth system will finally start to create the homegrown Arsenal teams of the future. It’s going to be brutal for those involved, but freaking awesome for us spectators.
How tall is JET?
J, no need to get worked up about comparisons made. No matter what you say people will always compare, its inevitable.
I have to say every time i’ve seen frimpong he has impressed me. If he continues like this over the next year or two then i wont be long before he is in the first team. The guy can tackle and is pretty good on the ball. Hope they win the cup.
Friampong is a very good DM hes like essien. Loved his tackles and agression. Also he had quite alot of pace and keeping the ball well. But i still think Henri Lansbury is our best Youth central midfielder. Friampong might have the power and aggression, henris got style, quile and very creative, and a proper leader.
dean when he said one of dem i think he meant that at least one of them will make it
i thought that frimpong was english??? can he play for england?
I thought that was strange as well steve bould saying one of them will play in the first team. Does he mean this season or does he mean in the future. Whats happening with mark randall he should be loaned out. His he injured?
frimpong does play for england… also lads, cream always rises to the top! red army!
Randall should be loaned out/sold he’s not good enough.
Thanks as always, J, for a good piece about our kids. I’ve been reading your blog for ages but never contributed.
‘The future is coming?’ Undeniable. But what future will it be? We’ve all been hearing for years that ‘the future is coming’ under Wenger. All too many times we’ve seen the kids go out on loan only to come back for half a season of frusrtation before being shipped out again either temporarily or permanently.
The biggest problem, in my mind, to these kids progressing and giving us a bright future is that by the time they are ready to step up to the first team and start learning their trade professionally instead of in the reserves, Wenger will have continued selling the experienced pros who they should be learning from, and instead these kids will have to step up and bear the brunt of the club’s and the fans’s expectations.
In two years time, if Wenger cashes in on Fabregas (for example), then Frimpong and Coquelin etc have to step in and perform first team duty while learning ‘on the job’ from Denilson, Diaby, Song and co.
Do you really think these guys are good enough to progress if the senior pros around them are removed from the equation?
On a separate note, I watched a lot of the pre season matches and was impressed with Coquelin who seemed to be getting a few games. Any idea why he hasn’t had a bench-warming spot with the first team this season when Wilshire, Ramsey, Merida, Bischoff have all had a chance?
yeah he is English, of Ghanian descent.
1-3 to the Arsenal, 1-3 tot he Arsenal. What a cracking match – better than the previous match at the Hawthorns! Oh I was proud to be a Gooner.
I thought Frimpong was brilliant BUT his passing comp rate was probably less than 20%, and his tacking similar, HOWEVER it was brilliant to see a match in which ARSENAL owned the centre of the paddock again ala Vieira/Parlour/Edu/Flamini.
Frimpong’s wingman was good too, as was Sunu.
What a cracker from MURPHS!!!!
Yeah Frimpong is English. He played for the U17 recently.
Frimpong parents are from ghana so he could play for ghana but he was awesome lastnight.He bossed that midfield for such a small lad but bloody hell does J.e.t look hench fucking hell lol
frimpong was very good last night especially defensively
however i disagree with you in that he didnt misplace a pass all night.
In fact he did give the ball away quite alot
however the kid can easily work on his selection of passing and we could be seeing a very promising player in the mold of a micheal essien
the sort of player the first team need right now
It’s off topic and I’m sorry, but why not loan Nordtveit to an English team?
fucker why didn’t he get selected for the england under 17.Suck player such as Gary Gardner get selected.Jay emmanuel thomas also didn’t make it
I agree, Frimpong is one of the front runners from the current 18-reserve stock, already over taken Randall and probably Landsbury aswell in my opinion. I also agree that we shouldent over hype players and make stupid comparisons either. But Frimpong does remind me a bit of Essien.
:D couldent resist…
If Cesc stays at the club (and finger crossed he will) then we need a physical CM alongside him.
I was at the Arsenal – Sunderland U18 game last month sat in the mixed crowd and the Sunderland fan next to me was very enthusiastic about Coquelin and Frimpong, especially the former. Sadly a midfield of Cesc and Coquelin is too lightweight.
Frimpong on the other hand is an entirely different proposition, he is fast strong and willing. The most impressive thing about the boy is his judgement, his tackles aren’t rash, he has the innate sensibility of a natural tackler.
Frimpong didn’t make the England U17 squad.
Maybe it has something to do with being sent off against Spain in the last qualifier…..
Emmanuel-Thomas isn’t in the U19 squad either.
J, i guess both coquelin and Frimpong are DM s. Who do you rate more? What are the differences between them?
GHANA HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING HARD WORKING MIDFIELDER WITHOUT MENTIONING ANYONE SPECIFIC AND I HOPE HE FOLLOWS THAT FOOTSTEPS OF THE GREATS.
BIG UP TO COQUELIN 2,CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIM IN THE FIRST TEAM.THIS KID WILL RUN THROUGH A BRICK WALL IF IT MEANT HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
BIG UP YOUNG GUNS
How come JET always wears the captains armband on his right arm? I thought it was an “unwritten rule” to wear it close to your heart, on your left arm that is ;)?
Peter_afc – He does play for England mate.
I don’t understand how people praise Bartley ahead of Ayling. Kyle got beaten far too easily for the Spuds goal. I suggest people check back to see how JET’s winner came about. I’ll explain…
The Spuds broke away due to Eastmond giving the ball away carelessly on the halfway line to Parrett, who fed Obika, who then proceeded to run at Ayling who nipped the ball off of him on the edge of our box as he tried to play it back to Parrett (read it beautifully). Luke then quickly nipped it away again from Parrett as he closed in and tried to capitalise on the loose ball in the nick of time and then broke away with it, feeding Sanchez, who in turn fed Jacky boy. Jack held it and cut in onto his left as Luke proceeded forward before receiving a little dinked pass, controlling it brilliantly on the stretch and knocking it to Sanchez straight away who was two yards away. Sanchez then quickly fed JET who cut it onto his left and finished the scum off. I just referred to my Sky +.
Absolute class!
I invite you to visit my first post in English here:
http://dastneveshteh.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/first-post-in-english/
I would be glad having your comments about it there :-)
JS is right to say what a star Frimpong was at Tottenham. We eventually won midfield. They only really troubled us through that winger and the odd breakaway. BUT JET looks to me to be almost guaranteed to make it and probably at Arsenal. Big, can finish, can head(ish), can beat a man and pass. A little bit more aggression and he could be world-class.
I’ve been “plugging” Frimpong since his u16 days with England in 2007. He continues to impress but must keep the bite in his game.
PS why do my posts come up as under mod review? I’ve never done anything remotely naughty.
It’s a shame that probably half our reserve and junior midfielders will leave over the next few years. But just look at how much competition there is for positions.
The 1st team starts with Rosicky-Fabregas-Denilson-Walcott, backed up by Nasri-Diaby-Song-Ramsey. And there’s still Bischoff-Wilshere-Randall-Lansbury-Barazite-Eboue before you even get to the star line-up from this game.
That’s 18 talented midfielders altogether – it’s a shame that quite a few will go.
Playing City in the next round.
I personally think that Fransis Coquellin needs to improve his passing, Emmanuel Frimpong needs to improve his shooting because on the evidence of the game against Spurs in the FA Youth Cup last thursday night, i would still say that they are behined Jay Emmanuel Thomas in the pecking order IMO.
Dont think it’s a good thing to “jump on” other websites. You’re attitude is one reason I rarely reads this blog anymore.
I think that Bould meant that one of them will play in the first team before the end of the season. I suspect that it will be Coquelin who IMHO had a better game than Frimpong by quietly intercepting, and releasing quickly the ball whenever possible. He intercepted passes and his distribution was often excellent. The only blemish on his partition was his corener taking. Most wer awfull and did not pass the first defender. When it did, Bartley scored.
Frimpong’s tackling was excellent during the game however his final pass and his shooting could have been better.
Bould has stated that they were not really sure in which post to play JET. They want him to become centre half but he is having none of that. JET looks like a powerhouse, but he does not look good enough and mobile enough as a striker. He is also lacking the explosive pace of a winger.
Out of the youth team that played Thursday evening, I can see Coqulin, Frimpong, Wilshere making it at Arsenal.
JET, SUNU, Bartley will have a great premiership career but not at Arsenal. Maybe Arsene will introduce a first option buy back and a fee percentage in the contract when we sell them. They may be late developper.
Some of the rest will have a decent career at a second tier premiership club. The last group will be Championship level player.
Most of those that will not make the grade will be due not to having the level in term of physicality and technically. It is will because of the brain. Either lacking the discipline off the pitch (Gilbert is the perfect example falling out with everybody). Or lacking the discipline and the vision on the pitch (Randall is always a red card waiting to happen, he commit at leat one serious foul per game especially when he is frustrated).
It is just that in term of positioning they are not good enough and they lack the vision.
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J, who is a better DM? Sisco or Frimpong?
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