Welcome to this weekends Loanees Watch – Young Guns’ analysis, reports and updates on the progress of the young starlets currently plying their trade away from the Emirates Stadium. You can read all the latest reports below.
Arsenal currently have seven Reserves & Youth players gaining experience elsewhere. Jay Simpson and Henri Lansbury are taking part in successive loans in the Championship with Queens Park Rangers and Watford respectively and are joined by Kerrea Gilbert who is with Peterborough United. There are four youngsters in League One with Gavin Hoyte at struggling Brighton, Mark Randall with Milton Keynes Dons plus Wojciech Szczęsny and Rhys Murphy are enjoying their first spells away from the club at Brentford.
The Gunners currently have two youngsters cutting their teeth abroad. Pedro Botelho is spending his third successive loan spell in the Spanish Segunda, but this time with Celta de Vigo, while Håvard Nordtveit is spending the campaign in Germany with Nuremberg. Read all the latest reports below.
In the Championship Henri Lansbury played 80 minutes and scored for Watford in their 3-2 defeat against Blackpool. Henri started behind the striker in a 4-5-1 and had a mixed time. After a good opening spell from Blackpool in which they scored, Watford hit back through Lansbury who tapped in from close range. Lansbury got stuck in during the second period but he struggled to really influence before being taken off late on in place of Danny Graham. Loanee Rating – 7
Kerrea Gilbert racked up another 90 minutes for Peterborough but couldn’t prevent a defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Again playing in his prefered position of right-back, Kerrea turned in another solid performance but he lost his clean sheet just before half time. Loanee Rating – 6
In League One, Wojciech Szczęsny played 90 minutes after signing an extension to his Brentford loan but didn’t keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 defeat to Norwich City. Szczęsny made a handful of superb reaction saves including one with his left hand to deny Chris Martin, but Brentford were beaten in the 77th minute by Martin. Rhys Murphy didn’t play due to an ankle injury. Loanee Rating – 6
Pedro Botelho was a substitute in Celta Vigo’s 1-1 draw with Huesca. Loanee Rating – 5.
Mark Randall, Håvard Nordtveit, and Gavin Hoyte didn’t get any minutes this week.
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Article By – J.Sanderson
I keep reading “suburb reaction saves” but am not sure how you define this. It would seem that Brentford allow a lot of shots from well inside the area but Szczesny keeps them in the match over and over again. Is this correct?
What is the news about Nordveit you alluded to on twitter?
Szczesny is great at reaction stops, ones where you think the ball is in, but he recovers quickly to stop it.
haho – the Nordtveit stuff was some news I heared from a German contact that Nuremberg were planning on cancelling his loan. I looked into it and it was rubbish.
Where is Randall on loan?
Randall is at Milton Keynes Dons.
After fabianski’s performance, szczesny needs to come home! Buffon and cassilas were bith first choice at his age at big clubs, and it is a position at arsenal that needs sorting NOW!
Wojciech should come back after this and fight for 1st place, i’d prefer him as 2nd choice but i know that might be hard.
Good thing fabianskis perfomance may just hasten his rise…
Sad though, about fabianski.
He should honestly improve a.s.a.p!
Just spoke to Josh Rees on Facebook, seems a very nice boy, hasnt signed for us yet.
Hopes 2 tho
I mean He hasnt signed his Contract yet
Szczesny should remain on loan for the next year at least (although preferably at a Championship side) to get experience and iron out any flaws. If Fabianski had the same opportunity he probably would have reached a higher level by now. It’s unfair to expect keepers to improve without regular games.
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Szczesny made some very good saves (as he has during his whole loan spell) but got beaten at his near post i thought rather too easily. He’s class though and is definitely our best ‘keeper. He should have at least got a 7 rating though JS.
As for Lansbury. I saw his goal and his assist. I like this kid. He has great potential. It will be interesting to see what next season holds in store for him.
Yeah.., but every time I see him playing, Fabiansky looks very nervous & not confident enough. Even Mannone looks more confident than him, don’t u think?
I’ll take Szczesny/Mannone over Fabiansky any day… Fabiansky is a younger version of Almunia.
Good reflexes but doesn’t have the right mentality needed to be a great GK
Giandana, you’re mad if you’d play Mannone over Fabianski.
I expect Mannone (who can’t catch a ball) to leave in the summer, leaving the other three to fight it out. The Italian will be remembered in years to come as that weird bloke whose name we’ve forgotten but who once had a good game against Fulham.
Sounds to me like Chesney warranted more than a 6/10, his saves looked excellent on the highlights.
yea in the sun chesney got 8/10.
Mannone has signed a new contract, Julian H.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8477875.stm
Aha, what stunning timing.
I’ll get my coat.
A little off topic but what the hell was AW thinking playing Le Coq at fullback when Eastmond has experience in that position.. I know the youngsters need games to develop and for morale but I don’t think putting them lads up against stoke of all teams was a good idea.. The only plus was that big bad sol looked sharp for a fella that hasn’t played top-flight football for months!
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nexxus – Be because Coquelin is quicker than Eastmond. Etherington would have roasted young Craig had it been the other way round.
@ Julian H:
I’m mad?! Well, u must be blind then… (Sorry Julian, but u were a bit overreacted in ur comment don’t u think?)
Did u even see Stoke’s 1st goal in the FA cup Julian? Or.. what about that Drogba’s goal in last season FA cup semifinal? Do u think we deserve to concede that kind of goals?
Tell me, did u feel comfortable enough when u watched him playing? Coz I’m not. He performs nervously in almost every game he played, even in games that we won. I don’t know about u, but I dont think that is the right mentality for a GK.
I know Fabiansky is good, but to be a great GK he needs to improve his confidence. > and also his concentration perhaps??
Indeed Giandano, I did see Stoke’s first goal – alas I was behind the goal at the time. So much as the goal could be argued to be Fabianski’s fault, it hardly compares with Mannone dropping the ball against Birmingham back in the autumn – or his dropping the ball and general hopelessness in that pre-season game against Rangers. I also recall ManUSA away in the European Cup last season, a game in which Fabianski saved us from humiliation. Mannone may have had one decent game against Fulham, but it doesn’t compare to several decent performances from the Pole.
My argument is not that Fabianski is the dog’s proverbials, or even that he fills me with confidence. It’s simply that, as a young ‘un, he has more potential than Mannone. I must say I stumped by the decision to give Mannone a contract but hey, in the Boss we trust, and as ever when I criticise an Arsenal player – I hope he proves me wrong.
Overall I increasingly agree with several comment-leavers on here in suspecting that the Chesney kid might soon prove to be the best of the four.
The only way to develop confidence and consistency is through regular games. Obviously we couldn’t offer Fabianski that when he arrived, so he should have gone on loan. I can’t believe Wenger was naive enough to think he would become a great keeper simply by training.
@TJDAGOON: A good point, but surely the ability to defend and especially read the game from a specific position should be prioritised over pace? You’re probably spot-on with your answer, but at times I get the impression AW regards the learning experience as more important over the overall balance in the team, with regard to developing young players that is. Not that that is a bad thing, but perhaps a dry run in a ressies match rather than a full-blooded FA cup tie against one of the biggest / most physical teams in the top tier would be more prudent. Oh and as I like to continually point out (broken record etc. blah blah blah) Walcott is a duck. with pace. not a footballer.
nexxus – AW’s been doing that for years mate. He sacrifices important games just to blood youngsters and develop them. You can’t really produce the same atmosphere and pressure in reserves matches so AW throws them straight in at the deep end in regards to that. It’s the single reason why so many Gooners are often enraged with the boss.
As for Theo, he needs to come off the RW and go on the left for a bit. He’s far too one-dimensional to constantly be left out there on the right. It’s no coincidence that we had a nightmare game against Liverpool a couple of months ago (so much so that the boss yelled at them like never before), but turned the game on it’s head the moment Theo went to the left and Nasri to the right.
I do realise that, as a patient fan and an unwavering suppporter of AW’s youth policy; however can we both agree on that after so many years with nothing to show for it, it had better be worth it, if not now at least in the near future?!
@ Julian H:
Well I guess we agree to disagree then, coz for me Vito is better than Fabiansky..
As much as I can understand right now, I think you’re right!