During the Carling Cup tie with West Brom on Tuesday night many Arsenal fans kept asking the same question; where is Fran Merida?
Along with Gavin Hoyte, Merida has been called up to his national side to represent them in the U20 World Cup, which has brought mixed emotions from the Arsenal ranks.
After rejecting a loan offer from Levante to compete for a first team place, it was expected that Fran would do just that. Except only a month in to the new season and Fran has been whisked off to play in a World Cup, which has left a few people scratching their heads.
Fran played his first game last night against Tahiti, whom Spain demolished 8-0, with Fran playing a pivotal role; scoring a goal and assisting. However, it is this sort of contest that raises question marks over the validity of the tournament. It defies logic to have an U20 World Cup arranged a month in to the new season when many players will be missing vital playing time with their respected clubs. Undoubtedly Fran would have started the game against West Brom, and possibly with injuries in the squad picked up further Premiership experience to add to his recent 20 minute spell against Portsmouth earlier in the season.
Fran has been away since the 14th of September, and if Spain manage to reach the final on the 16th October, he could miss just over a month with the Arsenal squad. This not only leaves him missing possible first team action but also gives others the chance to impress and step ahead of Fran in the queue for a first team berth. Fran has only recently returned from the UEFA U19 Championships, which he featured in during July and although Fran isn’t a first team regular, this stop, start pattern at the beginning of an important season for Fran makes life that little bit harder.
However, despite the negatives there are some obvious positive outcomes from his time away. Previous tournaments have been the catalyst for young stars to really make their name in world football, with Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero walking away with the Golden Ball (Player of the Tournament) in the last two World Cups. Also at only 19 years of age, Fran has plenty of time to add further Arsenal appearances to his name and along with being a key cog in the Spanish side he will pick up valuable experience by playing in such a prestigious tournament.
Maybe FIFA lack a bit of common sense towards their timing of the event, but if it helps Arsenal produce the next Messi or Aguero, then I’m sure the Arsenal faithful won’t be complaining.
Article By – Nick Love
Are you joking? Sitting on the Arsenal first team bench (at best), playing reserve games, and playing in the Mickey Mouse Cup is more important than the junior World Cup?
Bollocks.
it’s ridiculous having an u20 world cup – if pearce and capello have their way we could see wilshire playing in 5 england teams from U18 upwards – and they all have world cup tournaments? NO! it’s wrong. Let FIFA have an U17 and an U21 tournament if they must but that should be it.
JS do we have a recall option on Havard Nordvteit? I got a feeling when song goes to the african nations cup we will recall Nordvteit
It’s pointless because there is one at every level!
I rate merida highly as along with wilshere and ramsey. I believe this season would be cesc fabregas’s last with us. Wenger knows it, we all know it and cesc knows it as well.
Cesc has been underperforming these days, he is no longer the same player as he was last time. He seems to be heavy in his thoughts. I know he loves arsenal, but he knows it might be time for him to move on.
Wenger would probably sell him back to barcelona for a huge fee.
Therefore, Merida, Ramsey and Wilshere would be crucial to our arsenal setup in the next few seasons. With nasri, rosicky and arshavin guiding them, i believe they will come good in the next 2-3 seasons.
I believe its time for cesc fabregas to leave. Pass the captain’s armband to Vermaelen, as he is the next tony adams!!!!
I just saw that Alex Nimely played for the england -20?! I was very impressed with him when Arsenal played City in the FA youth cup final, I didn’t know he had a british passport.
Damn Gallas: Cesc has a record this season of a goal every two games and an assist every game. Not really the work of someone underperforming. Cesc will be here till he wins something. Wenger is not just going to sell his captain before he reaches his peak years. Generally, you are talking bullshit. People every year said we would sell Paddy and Henry and called us a selling club but waited, we got the best of them and then sold them when they looked like they were on the slow downward paths of their career. I genuinely don’t see why Cesc shouldn’t be similar (or at least until Ramsey is ready or Xavi is looking to retire and Barca NEED him.)
Re: Merida at the u20 – Rosicky is back, Arshavin is back, Theo, Nasri and Denilson aren’t far off… he just wouldn’t be getting close to the first team. Yesterday Wenger bought on Eboue instead of Wilshere or Ramsey, so it’s not like Merida would have been getting on in the last 20 minutes of games before these senior players. And as much as I like seeing him in the Carling Cup, missing 1 or 2 goes isn’t the end of the world. If he was to come up against the next Messi in the u20wc, then not only is he playing a better quality team than in reserve matches, he is also going to get the next messi watched by those high up at Arsenal!
There are only two FIFA World Cups at age grade. There are only two levels. it’s not like UEFA which has 4 or 5.
I hope Merida does well at world level and shows he can be world class like the likes of Messi, Figo, Fabregas, Maradona, Salenko, Aguero, Adriano, Burdisso, Casillas, Xavi, Mikel, Siasia, Riquelme, Dunga, Mijatovic, Boban, Bebeto….
It’s a very important tournament.
Ole Gunner,
I’m struggling to work out how taking part in a match against a south sea island nation which you win 8-0 without breaking a sweat can possibly be a better education thatn playing in a Carling Cup match against a team top of it’s division and looking likely to return to the top flight. Please enlighten me.
Completely agree. I’m sick of these pointless shitty international youth tournaments popping up every few months. The senior ones are complete shite as it is so what Fran is supposed to garner at an under-20 one is anyone’s guess.
The Euro U19 was the European Qualifying for the U20 WC. So they both could’t be during the summer.
I think tourments like this have a point of beening here it helps the players even more as they develop so i argee with Ole gunner
yeah they should play world cups but i’d say we’ll lose fran sooner or later he won’t wait a few more years and he’ll only become good enough at 22 23 not the time the age LOL
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_5587010,00.html
and poor vela can only get one game with an ankel injury LOLOLOLOLOL
I thought that the U20 was optional. Team can refuse to release their players. The U17, U19 and U21 are the official one that team cannot avoid. I am pretty sure that Arsene Wenger refused authorisation to Wilshere to go there for fear of burn out.
The problem with that competition is the level. Both in term of coaching and in term of opposition.
Some of the oppositions are quite weak. Spain spanked Tahiti 8-0 and it could have been more. It was a glorified training session that did not teach anything to the Merida.
In term of coaching. The best example is England with their coaches that clearly do not have the level. They are not good enough as a club manager (Stuart Pearce, …) and not good enough as teacher. Most of the Youth team set up tactic is hoof the ball on the speedy winger/striker and try to nick a goal like that.That is successfull because they take a lot of over physical players, but when facing with a more technical team they always come a cropper. Also in their over-physical approach tend to yield more card and their best player are often banned for later stage games.
At least for Merida that will not be the case. Spain does not tend to hoof the ball upfield. With their diminutive striker that would be less than useful.
Clock End Gunner,
You know how World Cups work don’t you? You match yourself against teams from all over the world, the best in your generation, and if you do well at that level it’s as sure proof as any that you will be world class.
The number of players who came through that level and became world class is infinite.
so if you think the kiddy World Cup is about playing island nations, hold on to that.
Play West Brom or go off in late Summer to a harsh climate to play a 3 week tournament with the very best kids in the world. No brainer.
In England we have our heads so much up our own arse as a footballing culture.
agree with ole gunner, granted this first match seems rather pointless, but considering spain usually go pretty far in these competitions chances are throughout the whole tournament fran will learn a fair bit
to be honest i do agree with the assessment that cesc would be sold for a huge fee, we have fran merida who is in the mold of cesc, wilshere who in my estimate is extremely capable, ramsey and not to mention a whole host of young upcoming and talented midfielders. The cache 22 of running a youth academy is that they would need playing time and if you are not winning players would leave guaranteed… as would be in the case of cesc if we do not win this year. so let him go to the U20 and gain enough playing time as i dont really think arsenal is ready this year…. upfront(strikers) we lack precision putting the ball behind the net which means our defence would have to work harder. which means that our thin defence would have problems… translation… cesc is leaving next year, as much as i hate to admit it.
J, any truth in rumours Derby wants Gavin Hoyte on loan?
Merida will benefit from the U20 World Cup. He’s already in Wenger’s mind now and it looks like he’s gonna have a strong U20 World Cup.
He’ll come back straight into the Carling Cup team vs. Liverpool and a good performance in that match will see him play in the FA Cup and perhaps a few matches in Christmas period and January when Song is off to the African Nations.
Good question J!
Seems to me Merida has played tons of games for olther clubs and various age levels for spain – it’s time he started getting some games with us. He probably only would have played against west brom but I don’t care, he should be with us.
Im sure merida would benefit most if he was playing week in week out like simpson and lansbury.
i don’t see the problem of merida playing under 20 WC really.he is back up first team so with arshavin and rosicky playing he s not gone play first team match except Carling cup
true Tahiti is maybe poor team but in every world cup it is always at least one very poor team.you ve got very good team in this world cup specially south American and African one who always do good.its a market for European club and a opportunity for young players from all over the world to show their talent (the famous golden generation of Portugal won it:figo and company)
actually instead moaning you should watch games and enjoy see young players (and next superstar) before they get poison by greed and money
It would be pointless if he only played Tahiti and missed the Carling Cup because of it, but that’s not the case. He’ll play against Nigeria tomorrow and Venezuela a few days after that. Then, hopefully, more matches after that if they qualify for the knock-out stages, as expected. All this should be completed before the next round of the Carling Cup, so yeah, I think its worthwhile.
As for Hoyte, if all he’s going to do is sit on England’s bench, then its a completely pointless experience for him, particularly since he would have been on the bench for the match vs. West Brom and might have even displaced Gilbert in the starting 11.
One thing’s for sure, there’s no future superstars in that England team. Atrocious.
On second thoughts, after 30 secs of reflecting on my slightly harsh comment, i’d like to rephrase.
Going by yesterday’s performance, none of them really stand out as anything extra special but they can always come on leaps and bounds. The performance was atrocious, if anything, (and we know who’s fault that is). I got so bored that i couldn’t watch more than three mins at a time……so i watched X Factor. :)
The Uruguay goal was the only thing special about the game. I’m rooting for Spain and Fran, to be more specific.
if he aint playing for arsenal then he will at least get some games.
I think it’ll be good for Fran, since Spain play a passing game, and not hoofball. He’ll get some games, and build his confidence if Spain can progress. It’s not like he’s playing for England under Eastick or Pearce.
How did Alex Nimely play? I was quite impressed with him in the FA Youth cup semi last year?
Any players that have caught the eye in this worldcup?On the Cesc matter, i hope i’m wrong but i agree that Cesc’s mind is already in Barcelona.He reminds me of Ronaldo/Ade/Henry last season – the passion faded away.At least Ronaldo had a last hurrah.Our lack of action in the transfer market (bar Vermaelen) made Cesc realise that Arsenal have a long way to go and the constant calls by Barca and its players to Cesc and the pull of his hero Guardiola are too much.Maybe its a blip/carrying an injury and i would love him to prove me wrong but i’d rather he went than having an Ade situation nxt yr.
These tourneys never ending. They may help the players develop even more. One would hope. http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
The tournement was scheduled for the summer but it was to hot in Egypt so they moved it back. I have been watching it and it is pretty crappy as far as European teams go with England and Germany taking real weak sides. Fran Merida isnt the worst story, Sergio Asenjo is the starting keeper at Atletico Madrid and he was called up for the tourney. Makes no sense.
Merida scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Nigeria today. From the match reports it sounded like he was motm too. That has got to be better experience than playing for the reserves or sitting on the bench.
I Agree Parks, Im surprised this is even a debate, play teams from a lower division or 2nd stringers, or play some of the best youngsters in the world. Now admittedly, most teams in the U20’s aren’t very good. But they are better than most teams in the CC and it’s obviously better than sitting on the bench.
The only negative I can see is Merida not getting enough playing time with the other young guns and possibly losing his position to another player. But I think Merida is too skilled for that to happen.
Parks already covered the news. Merida is gonna run rampant for a few matches in Egypt which I think is a far cry better than, at-best, a behind closed doors reserve fixture. Welcome to the beady little eyes of Spanish journalists kid. Arsenal should shield him pretty well, they’ve already sided with the kid when he was sued by Barca.
Internatinal football, at any level, is utterly pointless. Tanking Tahiti 8-0? Please. Makes boxing matchmaking look like a skilled art.
But, then again, I am Welsh. We don’t trouble the scorers when it comes to tournament play.
2 well taken goals by Senor Merida yesterday, cheeky bastard even chipped in the peno.. I like! :-)