Jack Wilshere is expected to complete the formalities on a 6 month loan move to Bolton Wanderers this afternoon. The 18-year-old has had offers from Burnley, Celtic, FC Twente and West Brom but has elected to work under The Trotters new coach Owen Coyle.
Wilshere has been used sparingly this term after a phenomenal break through campaign last year and Arsène Wenger believes some games in the Premier League will be the finishing touches to his development. Following his return from loan, Jack will be assessed as to whether he needs a second spell or he is indeed ready to realistically fight for a regular spot in the first-team. The winger also harbours international ambitions and although he started the season in the Reserves, some consistent performances would put him in an outside position to earn a call up to Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.
Arsenal will also monitor Wilshere’s treatment with Bolton in the aim of sending players to Lancashire in the future. They may be one of the Premier League’s least fashionable teams, but Wenger is believed to be keen to sending players there to learn the physical style of the game instead of enhancing their ‘total football’ mentality. News on the deal will be confirmed later today.
In other news, Young Guns is going through some changes as we celebrate our second anniversary today. It was two years ago that we began our coverage of the Arsenal Reserves & Youth teams and we’d like to use today to extend our massive thanks to all readers, commenters and fellow bloggers who have all assisted in making the website so popular.
We’ve had over 9,300,000 hits and well over 40,000 comments and the feedback and response as been amazing. To celebrate we’re planning on making things bigger and better for the coming year. You may have noticed we’ve moved to a brand new domain name at younggunsblog.co.uk and a new design is also being planned. So while we enjoy today and offer thanks, we’d like to ask you for your imput and ideas on what you’d like to see added to the site.
This would include colours for the new design, features and article suggestions. Feel free to leave them in the comment section and once more, a massive thank you and we look forward to your continued support.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Happy Birthday, Young Guns! :)
Your blog is mighty Young Guns. Keep up the stupendous work.
Excellent site, all the best for the coming years!
Happy Birthday
Happy b’day young guns! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for all the great work… First comment i’m posting here, long time reader… yours is the best Arsenal blog out there. period.
any Smalling news J
happy b day,why oh why are they letting wilshere go on loan to bolton,after what happend in those two games against them cunts.It’s absolutely shocking that wenger would allow this…
Happy Birthday!
keep up the good work. Your reports are regularly posted at our Forum, http://www.thearsenalforum.co.nr
Happy birthday!
Congrats on reaching 2 years, keep up the good work!
congrats, jamie =D
keep on posting quality like you do
cheers
Happy Birthday youngguns! It’s been great being part of this site, and long may it continue!
def one of my favorite arsenal blogs congrats
Blessed years ahead!
Happy Birthday, that’s fantastic news. Young Guns is one of the sites I check every single day, multiple times. Keep up the good work, you guys are awesome.
I wish Jack Wilshere all the best at Bolton. I hope he learns as much as possible and comes back ready to push for a starting spot.
Happy Birthday hopefully many more to come.
Happy Birthday Youngguns! Here’s to many more years of success for the site and for Arsenal!! Keep up the good work!
Good site which I read on a daily basis! Keep up the good work
Happy Birthday to one of the very best blogs out there, footballing or otherwise. Here’s to the next two years of quality reporting on Wenger’s prodigies! Hopefully we can celebrate with three points tonight!
Brilliant blog, I only read it as I know that it will give me the news I need.
ANY SMALLING NEWS J ?
Congrats and many happy returns of the day.
Happy birthday, have been an avid reader and I enjoy the loanies watch as well as youth team news a white theme might suit the site better preferably a red and white design. also a left sidebar might help
happy birthday youngguns! good on you guys for the fine work. long may it continue.
cheers
Congrats young Guns. You are my number one source of info on the youth ranks at Arsenal. God bless you.
Rodney, Kampala, Uganda
one thing i noticed over those asking for wenger to step down cause we missed out on smalling –
Liverpool fans make excuses for rafa signings, or lack of, they defended him when he brought the likes of pennant, gonzales, ngog, keane even voronin. they blame the owners and chief exec for them signing shit players and credit rafa when they get it right. Rafa has wasted more money than the owners but the fans are loyal.
(some) Arsenal fans cuss the manager for buying and not buying players, for games getting postponed, for making the club a profit (when everyone else is in shit street or needs a sugar daddy), for falling to sign players identified by the sun and mirror, for 60,000 stadium, for not buying a striker even though our 2 best strikers are injured and we still top scorers in the league.
liverpool fans maybe deluded but they have a certain class and loyalty that we used to match.
oh sorry j happy birthday – great blog
Wonderful work, Sir, this blog is invaluable. Happy birthday.
On the design – not too fussed, but try to keep it simple. Perhaps switch to a lighter (or even white) background.
Congratulations Jay and the rest of the team.
An awesome site, and a favourite of many people I know.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Keep up the good work.
About Wilshere, let him have a rough time by the rough ones. It will come to his good in the future.
great comment geeGunner. Spot on my friend.
shut up walter
HAPPY B. J. [GUNNERS 4 LIFE]
forget smalling, if we buy Cesar Azpilicueta, I’d be over the moon, and we are linked to him
The same ‘class and loyalty’ that saw Boro relegated because they stuck with Southgate for too long?
Wenger’s time at Arsenal is over (and this has nothing to do with Smalling).
Me how many times have you seen Azpilcueta ?
Happy Birthday young guns. This is a great site. Let’s hop this loan will work out well for Wilshere and Bolton. This will give the needed experience in the EPL. Missing out on smalley might be a good thing. Heq might not be a good fit. Wenger has taken Arsenal to new heights. This year Arsenal will win the title. Rafa didn’t prepare the Reds to play the season. Liverpool was too busy reading their press clippings on the EPL Title the press said was theirs. Injuries aqre part of the game. The Gunners have handled theirs well. Liverpool not. Why? not backups.
http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
happy birthday..!
thanks for the fantastic work..
Great Job J. And Happy Birthday Youngguns…
Best arsenal site on the internet.
Please keep black background with white writing – it’s so much easier to read!
jimbo is a sp*d.
jimbo’s time as a troll is over.
Congrat J keep up the gud work…hapi bday youngguns
The same ‘class and loyalty’ that saw Boro relegated because they stuck with Southgate for too long?
what shite you talk jimbo – if wenger had the same record as southgate or we were even in the same position then maybe you might have a point.
Remember man utd fans wanted fergie sacked after 2004 and 2005 some fake plastic fans like you were shouting loud from blogs and looked how it turned out for them.
you were talking shite in the last post “1 – Wenger was succesful in the past, but over the last 5 years his management has been exceptionally poor. ”
and you still at it. this is the last time i respond to ur nosense as i dont debate with fools. have a nice day.
It would be great to have archive so one could read older articles again.
Love Young Guns keep up the great work: Thanks happy “2”
World Peace Please!!!
Evidently, geegunner, you just don’t get it.
The point is not that Arsenal are as bad as Boro, but rather that loyalty for the sake of loyalty is a foolish exercise. You have to assess wenger on his merits, not on what happened 7-8 years ago, no according to some principle of loyalty that ignores reality, and the obvious position we find ourselves in is with a project that has failed.
So you can call me a fool if you like, but the number of logical fallacies you seem to be happy spouting pretty much proves that it is you who is the foolish one.
boring jimbo.
go to school and learn not to be a fool – jimbo
LOL geeGunner.
Thanks for the tip!
jimbo you’re in need of all the help the world can offer.
@Jimbo said this on January 27, 2010 at 2:32 pm
“We last won a trophy 6 (yes 6) seasons ago. Meaning the last 5 years / seasons of Wenger’s management have been trophyless.
mate 5 yrs ago is 5 yrs ago which was 2005 – how hard is that to understand?
so that last statement “Meaning the last 5 years / seasons of Wenger’s management have been trophyless.” is total bulshit! can you not understand your own statement?
school education is free uknow!
do you think pompey fans are thinking about their fa cup right now?
Happy Bazza Youngguns. A must read for every gooner every day.
Happy Birthday!
AW has Bouldy teaching the youngsters to defend better and is now sending them to Bolton to incorporate (or at least become comfortable with) the more physical aspects of the game, and presumably the culture of scoring from free kicks and maybe even defending them. (Is this true Sanderson?! If it is I am stunned; it’s a stroke of brilliance and nerve. While everyone associated with our club just about looks down on (or hates) Bolton and doesn’t want to know about them apart from twice a year, Wenger sees something to be gained from their approach FOR OUR CLUB). He also wins over another rival coach to not go that extra mile to wind up our team. Meanwhile at London Colney AW fashions a team ethic and a style of play that has outscored Barcelona this season – partly without a world class striker. AW is an amazing example of a top, top organizational leader with vision and the stamina and management skills to cover so many bases to the benefit of the organization. Oh, and don’t forget about the Stadium, the scouting network, the global brand, the relatively solvency, the diplomatic good will across the footballing world, and those trophies and memories from way back. If he actually does get around to winning another trophy I’ll just be bored by the perfection of it all. LOL
Criticizing AW is still important to keep him on his toes and things don’t always work out in life the way you want them too or planned on, but those who criticize AW need to keep it in perspective, otherwise they mostly just reveal their own petty natures and small minds. Frankly, they just can’t work out yet what really matters in life. Bless.
congrats! It’s a great website which always has interesting features…keep up the good work. Historians will use this to look back on the early days of future greats Wilshere, Afobe et al!
Another organizational masterstroke (which hasn’t really been too important for us, yet) is these link ups with Spanish clubs to settle in players like Pedro and Vela, and possibly a few more Brazilians. I think this isn’t as much in our control as we’d like, but that just gets back to my point about things don’t always go perfectly. But with the Arse they are pretty damn good and done as a business, not a Charity like Chelsea and Man City (meaning how hard is it to solve most problems with limitless money to throw at it). Anyway, why don’t these billionaires actually do something useful with their charity donations like help devise green technology or support cancer research or nano technology to clean up toxic waste? Instead we get entertained as we go to our graves.
Well done on the two years Jamie, but one thing i would like to add is when you improve this blog, would it be possible to edit or change our comments in the future for things like spelling mistakes etc etc.
Any info j on Collison???
http://fortheloveofarsenal.blogspot.com/2010/01/arsenal-weighing-up-collison-move.html
congrats on the two years and hope it continues.One of the best Arsenal sites about thats for sure.
happy birthday guys. Congratulations you are the top keep up the good work.
Final say on transfers we should buy Victor Moses? If any striker goes down we are back to being short? Who’s rated as Crystal Palaces best center back?
Good luck Gunners vs Villa we need a 3 to nil win!!!!
you should have more advertise on the site to generate some income for yourself bro!
Any news on Chris Smalling?
Any news on Chris Smalling ?
davo you asked me about Azpilicueta, well I watched him a couple of times this season, but he caught my eye playing for spain at U21’s and other levels. This is a fact “The 20-year-old has more than 80 league games under his belt” would be great to have him
Yuck, Wilshere playing for Bolton?!?!
Also, congrats J on the milestone. Thanks for all your hard work.
if it was any reliable news ,he would have post it,so stop asking about Smalling.Who really care if we sign it or not.
If he sign for us fine but if not ,well not end of the world i say.Why some people are exciting about signing him or not.If it was any news about signing Villa or Buffon i would be exciting but it s only a dream
Happy birthday YoungGuns
Happy birthday from Kenya. Love your blog. Had been hoping Wilshere’d go to the Hammers to get some coaching from Zola as they are similar type players! As for Smalling we still have Nordviet, Bartley,Ayling, Hoyte, etc, who may still come through.
J.S.:
man, i have started readng you blog since i was in my country in latin america and didins even know that i was going to study in London soon after… it is good to know that it has passed 2 years .. thanks to you as well for all these info that really intereset to a lot of people. cheers for ur bday mate !! hope the best for this website for the good of the young gooners… !!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOUNG GUNS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Cesar Azipculeta i havent seen alot of him? All i know is that hes a left footed right back and he was a midiflder
CAn anyone describe him please and also someone please tell me what is so special about sergio canales.
Congratulations to you man. My site is almost 2 as well. I have been there, I know how tough it is to maintain a site such as this. I wish you all the best and hope we ( me and you ) can put our differences behind us and work together again.
I will send you an email shortly. Check your email and let me know.
Happy birthday and all the best. Been a regular “hitter” but not a regular commenter, and only because I dont have the time to read thru the tons of comments.
I’ve been following your blog for a long time now and I must say that it is a very good blog. You are almost always the first one to announce young gun signings, and the thing that separates you from other blogs is that the news you post is highly reliable most of the times. Keep up the good work, and good luck for the future!
@John, I’ve noticed Azpilicueta back in 2007 when he played for Spain U19’s, which is a bit unusual as he plays on the right back position. After the tournament he made his debut in the Osasuna first team against R. Madrid and made 81 appearance since then.
I would describe him as aggressive (now I liken him to Vermaelen), he’s also a great passer, determined, has great influence on the pitch and even with his young age people respect him, also uses his body well to protect the ball and plays very intelligent. I like Sagna, especially his work in defense, but I think Azpilicueta is a creative winger in compare to him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not perfect and it’s very questionable how much time would he need to settle in, but seeing Vermaelen I reckon not too much.
What else to say…he’s VERY competitive, great stamina, reliable in back and intuitive and creative upfront. He didn’t score any goals yet but we don’t actually expect that from a LB do we :).
Happy bday from ireland. J could we be getin Collison or Moses.
J, well done on a terrific blog! let’s hope next year it is even better!
Suggestions? Well firstly, got to go with the red and the white surely! Get the colours in there! I reckon a picture gallery would be cool as well.
Arseblogger is now doing liveblogs on games…maybe an idea for reserve matches? seeing as your lightening on the reports anywho!
good luck for year 3!
Please stop to call jack wilshere a winger….wizzy is a number 10!
if bolton make him plays as a winger he will fail this is for sure . EPL needs players like wilshere and wizzy the wizzard will be what everybody except form him just if he plays in his natural position…behind forward!!!!
nice website 2 keep up wiv the equally(if not more) succesul team of the reserves and youth.
congrats 2 young gun staff
Happy B’Day Young Guns!!!!!!!!!!
To improve maybe you can get some interviews with the scholars. Would be cool.
In regard to Smalling, what’s happening J? I’m not asking for extra news but have Man Utd got him or not? or is he now being allowed to decide where he wants to go?
United still haven’t signed him, but have had an offer accepted and are discussing terms.
Interviews with scholars are difficult, as the club wouldn’t allow them to talk without their supervision and acceptance.
Just from BBC live text:
Chris Smalling, who yesterday signed for Manchester United from Fulham, though he will stay at Craven Cottage for the rest of the season, is busy signing autographs at Old Trafford at half-time. Wonder if he had to practice it overnight.
Hmmmmm.
Congrats J! Keep up the great work.
Any news on Victor Moses btw?
Does anyone know where one can watch highlights from all the u18 games or even the entire u18 games without having to pay for an arsenal tv subscription?
Happy Birthday!!! May you provide us with more good news related to Arsenal and help us gunners.
Anyhow, any news about Galindo???
Happy B’day – well done and keep up the great work. Insightful and really good to know about different aspects of the club we love.
Nottingham Forest and W.B.A. are the only clubs in for Victor Moses :S what happened to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man. City, Arsenal ?
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/810727-arsenal-and-city-in-moses-chase-transfer-talk?
any truth in it? Pls Wenger this time make it quick. Not like you did in the Smalling chase!!
Hey H, per my conversation with Arsenal TV Online clubs aren’t broadcasting games due to costs and subscriptions?
Does anyone agree Eduardo isn’t really that good? I love the team so much but he’s been annoying me? A tall powerful striker is needed now? What’s some names out there?
Matt we shud give Eduardo time I know his shootin etc. has been shit but he mite get back to the level he was before his leg break. Id b suprised if Wenger buys anyone I can only see him buyin Moses if its anyone.
MattMQ,
Hulk, Diogo, BryanRuiz, Players like that, Balotelli, ect.
MattMQ,
How about Bendtner??!
dudu bendtner does really have an eye 4 goal
I think we will see a late bid for Moses as wenger only has bendtner now eduardo is injured , Moses should come cheap …..
Any info on Moses ?? Crystal Palace are certain to sell him. I hope Wenger gets him. He looks like a handful.
Bendtner has some good qualities; fantastic in the air, confident, hungry, and not a bad finisher. But he certainly isn’t the man to spearhead our season. In time he may become that player, until then is he going to do what Rooney does for united? what Drogba does for Chelsea?
It’s frustrating to think of great CF who have taken us to titles, Ian Wright, Bergkamp, Anelka, Henry….and here we are in 2010 with our main man BENDTNER!
Who thinks Wenger should sign a striker before Monday?
Sometimes Wenger is really stubborn. I would love to see him sometime just buy someone (to prove all of us wrong, if nothing else).
100 comments, this will beef him up a bit, he needs to but is still growing