England Under 17’s have reached the final of the UEFA Under 17 European Championship Finals after beating France 2-1. A brace from Connor Wickham gave them the victory, with Benik Afobe claiming an assist. Coach John Peacock switched the formation again before kick off, this time playing Afobe in a ‘number 10’ role behind Wickham.
After a sluggish opening 10 minutes, both sides kicked on and had early chances. Paul Pogba drilled one effort from the edge at the box, but it was easy for Jack Butland. Up the other end, Afobe had the best chance of the game after catching Alvin Arrondel cold, he charged down a ball forward and raced in on goal, a solid save from Alphonse Aréola denied a certain goal. Benik then headed the resulting corner inches over.
After sustained pressure which included France hacking four England chances off the line, the Young Lions got their goal. Nathaniel Chalobah’s long pass found Afobe, he chested down and then rolled in Connor Wickham, the Ipswich striker finished across the ‘keeper for his first goal of the tournament.
Les Bleus then dominated the possession but they couldn’t find a way through. Afobe was then pulled onto the left wing, creating space for Conor Coady through the middle. Coady raced into the final third and picked out Wickham with a fine pass. He again finished across Aréola for a simple second. It came on the stroke of half time.
The second half began in a strange manner when Butland was punished for time wasting with the award of a free-kick inside the box. Sanogo drilled the ball straight at Butland in a crowded area.
End to end play was the main feature of the second half, but neither side could get the key fourth goal. Afobe play the whole of the second half wide on the left, having little impact. A selection of shaky moments at the back were weathered, and England had their place in Sunday’s Final, with either Turkey or Spain to face them.
first J that is really really quick
and Second Wickham looks promising
but any idea how we missed out on Pogba dont we have a monoply on French young players
Cheers Andrew.
Yes Wickham looks tidy. He’s a good finisher, shame there’s not a lot more to him that his size and finish, but he looks great.
Pogba isn’t really an Arsenal style player. He is tall, strong and has a good pass, but he’s not very mobile, he doesn’t cover the ground very well and he prefers to shoot from range rather than pass and move.
Still I have seen Pogba play and he has talent but yeah you’re right about him not being mobile and maybe midfield in one position we dont need to add in
J are we going for any young players during the summer
there were a few that we were thinking of buying
Stefan Savic
Veljko Batrović
any clue of us going for them
Wickham was awful in the 1st game when he was asked to play on the flanks because his link-up play very average, instead Afobe was then moved to the flank
Hey J do you think we have a chance to get Francisco Alcacer?? I think that’s how you spell it. Everyone is probably watching him though.
“Pogba isn’t really an Arsenal style player. He is tall, strong and has a good pass, but he’s not very mobile, he doesn’t cover the ground very well and he prefers to shoot from range rather than pass and move.”
That sounds like Chuks Aneke to me. Maybe not the last point (although, Chuks shoot a lot too), but the other points.
Aneke is very very mobile for someone of his height and his passing range is unbelievable for someone of his age
Francisco Alcacer we are keeping an eye on him as it says on the reports but I doubt he will leave Valencia and come to us especially since he will get more playing time there than here
Agreed Andrew, with Valencia selling Zigic and Villa and being in financial trouble, he will definately get some game time now after his performances for Spain U17s
Its quite depressing there arent alot of stand out players this year.
I havent watched the game so i aint going to comment. But having seen the under 17s there is only one player who looks the real deal and that is Luke garbutt in my opinion. He looks brilliant compared to last year, Hes improved so much.
Paul Pogba is really good but i think Chuks aneke is a better player than pogba. MAn Utd fans seem to think he could break into thier first team. They love him
JS any news on Nick Powell from crewe? Any truth in it?
How is alban Bunjaku doing for the under 16s? Will he be featuring in the under 18s next season?
Nick Powell is somebody we scouted, but that’s it.
Savic is certain to leave his current team, and he says Wenger promised him another trial.
Alcacer is linked with us based on recent performances. We scout players over a long term.
Veljko Batrović was in talks with PSG recently, he’s close to signing for them.
J any idea on players who might make the step up to under 18 next season
I know Ansah, Harjovic and Ansah will make the step and become regulars hopefully next season but what about other next season?
this alban Bunjaku kid is suppose to be the future
You can read about the new scholars here: http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2010/01/brady-court-decide-on-arsenals-2010-scholars/
They will all go into Under 18’s next season.
Bunjaku is a talented winger. He’s not one of the notable names in the group and I’d be surprised if he went on to have any kind of future here. It’s just people have heard his name around, and because there wasn’t much information about him he kind of built up a reputation he hadn’t earned.
JS are there any good wingers coming through which a genuine chance of making it at arsenal?
Nick Powell is he a winger or a central midfielder? Crewe seem to produce good youngsters i like the look of thier striker max clayton looks class but i havent seen nick powell.
JS do you think Havard Nordtveit can step up to the premiership? have u watched him in the bundesliga?
I have seen Norvedit play for Nurmberg and he cant play for us week in and week out but he can surely play for us in the cup games and odd PL games.
I am guessing WEnger send Norvedit out on loan so he can get some experience and get better as a player and make sure that first team apperance clause isnt triggered (I think)
Savic has to be better than Norvedit and Bartley to be bought which I doubt he? a trial is probably to compare all three training together side by side
Savic thats weird why would wenger give him another trial thats weird unless he was injured.
Remeber Mate Toth? What happened to him? He went on trial but got injured and we havent heard ever since.
We do need some centre backs but we need centre backs who could step up to the premiership and handle the physical demands
Harjovic, Angha, Miguel and Bartley too many CBs dont need more in my view and all of them look great especially Miguel
Our midfield is probably as strong as it was last year – Ozzie and Aneke
We got Afobe, Phil Roberts and Ansah as two good strikers but Freeman will probably go on loan next year
In Defense we have Miguel, Harjovic and Ansah.
and Goalkeepers will porbably be McDermott and Charles Cook
To be honest i have been really disappointed with sean mcdermott hes been pants but maybe next year he will get stronger. Zak Ansah i dont really rate at all. Hes like inzaghi scores tap ins and does nothing else
I do like the look of jamie edge i think hes another who needed a year to adapt to arsenal than kick on.
If Ansah can become the next Inzaghi then I will be really really happy
Francisco Alcacer is similar kind of player but he has very good finishing for his age and his positioning throughout the tournament has been awesome I hope he can get this kid
I do like the look of josh rees and jeffrey monkana both have looked capable but i havent been impressed with Zak Ansah at all. He just doesnt have the all round game hes a bit like afobe.
We need a striker with a bit of class and the x factor. Hoepfully this phil roberts kid could be it. He seemed to be scoring a billion goals.
Nigel Neita will he get released?
Zak Ansah is a great propsect most arsenal fans hate him because he’s a stupid kid who couldnt keep his mouth shut
but that doesnt discount the fact that he knows what a striker should know and that’s how to score goals I dont care if he has a X factor or not but the kid turned 16 in May and has scored and played for the Under 18 for over a year now
I can see him becoming a great player in the future if it will be arsenal or not I dont know
No most people dont like cause he hasnt been really good.
To play for arsenal up front you got have that bit of class. I am afraid ansah, afobe in my opinion just dont have it.
god they score goals I dont care if they are classless as long as they are upfront scoring goals
since OBed has been sold how do you guys rate Ben Glasgow I havent seen him play at all but they say he can become a great RB if he improves his physique
JS is it me or has this crop of youngsters been disappointing? I mean remeber the Fa youth cup team and premier league youth cup winners? The likes of lansbury, jay thomas, rhys murphy, sanchez watt, coqulin, thomas cruise, bartley, ayling.
I dont the crop we have currently are better than that one and the year after this crop doesnt look strong as well.
Aneke, Freeman, Afobe, Henderson, Oğuzhan Özyakup, Miguel, Angha, Harjovic and Shea have all impressed so we may not have won all that we could win but we stil did pretty good
It seems dissapointing because of we’re advanced. In this years Premier Academy League Final, we could have picked Wilshere, JET, Bartley, Ayling, Watt etc. But because they’ve gone onto bigger and better things, instead of having a 17/18 year old Under 18 team like everybody else, we’ve got a 16/17 year old Under 18 team.
Oğuzhan Özyakup should have played for turkey
netherlands most talented players have a curse of being very very injury prone
If we are looking at Francisco Alcacer then why not go for
Luc Castaignos
this kid is maybe more talented then most strikers of his age combined he’s 6’2 at 17yrs of age so good height and scores goal for fun just like Francisco Alcacer
WE need to get one of them
Ignasi Miquel
should be in the under 17 spanish team
yeah why isnt he in there
do they have better players than him ?
no John, the stand out player of the England team is McEachran. very skillfull on the ball, great vision.
Chabolah, Pilatos, and Garbutt are three other players who impressed.
England played a dreadful game today, Peacock is clueless. Aneke being injured, Yennaris would have been a better option than Coady, who is very limited. England kept hoofing the ball to Wickham, in typical Eastick – Peacock – Swain – Pearce – Blake – ‘s way..
yesterday Enland U19 beat Ireland U19 1/0: the midfield for England was Cruise – James – parret – mellis… so it’s more or less three defensive midfielders + 1 left back playing in midfield. Depressing.
I have stopped watching England youth game they suck most of the time its better to watch teams like Spain, Brazil, Argentina and my personally favourites right now Netherlands their youth teams are awesome and play beautifull football just like Brazil
J are we looking at any youngsters ???? especially some talented wingers and fullbacks
I wonder how conor henderson played hes a top talent
Thomas Cruise i actually think he could do a job as a defensive midfielder i think hes more mobile and stronger than eastmond hes taller as well.
I really like thomas cruise technically hes good and hes a solid defender. Not many wingers get past him despite his lack of pace.
Sorry i have been more impressed with Luke garbutt than josh meachran. Why do ppl always look at attackers.
Gabrutt has impressed me so much going foward and defending and technically he looks excellent.
I’m looking for the kind of players England don’t have. McEachran is a very skillfull player who can make things happen from the middle of the park. England desperately needs these kind of players. Wilshere, McEachran, Morisson, Bostock, are players who might change the way England play. I’m not sure they will, but at least there is potential.
Garbutt is a good left back, but nothing to get excited about IMO
Morrison and Bostock are just athletic players
I know what John is trying to say regarding Afobe and Ansah. They don’t play like Van Persie. They can still make it and they can still develop their playmaking and vision. Afobe is starting to do this already. They might not be able to develop it to the point that RVP has, but they don’t have to really. They are there to score goals right?? As long as they can score and have enough strength to hold off defenders, then they’ll be fine. We might change our formation in the future, who really knows?? I haven’t seen Ansah, but I get the impression that he is a goal poacher/pure goal scorer?? I have seen afobe play many times and I like his play a lot!! I think he’ll be fine, and he’ll make it no doubt.
Afobe was good but not so good in the flanks today. He surely needs to work on his positioning and work rate in the flanks. But as a Forward he is class. I remember Bendtner being awful in the flanks but has become quite good today. He might think he is too good to work all game but that is normal at this age. You can sometimes lose focus when its going very very well. But I hope he don’t play in the flanks anymore in this tourney.
And i forgot to mention the French number 9. He was so damn good. It was unbelievable. For me he was above everyone else.
His name is Yaya Sanogo, he’s a striker Arsenal have tried to sign on various occasions. He’s already played for Auxerre’s first team. I thought he was good today, without ever being dangerous. He’s strong, quick and good finisher, but he had no support.
Really? I have never heard of Sonogo before. I will try to follow him from now on. He looked so good. Just like a modern striker should be. A playmaker upfront who can score goals.
Do you know why he hasn’t sign for us? I can see the top clubs all over the world chasing him. I recon he will be a world beater in 3-4 years time.
Yaya Sanogo reminds me bit of a young nicklas bendtmer. Bendtner at 16 6ft 3 pace, skill, brilliant dribbler and sanogo looks similar on occassions i have seen him
J any idea on what position Brady is going to try and strengthen in the youth teams this summer. I am guessing he bought Phil Roberts to cover for Freeman but what do you think he will focus on next ?
I hope its some good RB’s why doesnt Brady go for this 16 yr old kid Jonás Ramalho
He has already played first team football in la liga and was even an usused sub in the europa league and he looks great while playing for Spain
We should also be looking for Wingers real out and out wingers like barca’s Gerard Deulofeu
Supergunner, Morisson is super skillfull, not specially athletic. You haven’t seen enough of him believe me. He is probably the most skillfull of these young players.
Bostock is quite athletic yes, but I saw him marshallilng the midfield with real class and skill for England a couple of times.
sharpovic:”You haven’t seen enough of him believe me”, on what are you basing that nonsense, MUTV show their academy games live not highlights which i have seen many off, i dont see the close-control to say he isnt relying on his speed for dribbling which the way most kids are taught in UK.
As for Bostock, relies alot on his physique, speed and power than technique, passing and vision whenever he plays in midfield. Didn’t even realise he was playing against arsenal last season, every-time Pong and Coq pressured him, he couldn’t maneuver the ball to wriggle free [he just gives the ball away]
J.S. – I think that we should try and get Schezny as our number one for this coming season, if he is good enough age shouldn’t matter, just like Cesc and Ramsey.
Any idea if it possible he starts for the first team regularly next year?
I have to agree that I want him playing for Arsenal week in and week out next season but I know that its not going to happen.
He has to prove himself in the championship and then the PL and maybe after two years we can bring him into arsenal setup and then hopefullyhe can command that positions for years to come
Tech 9 looks like all he needs right know is too grow physically he is already a great shot stopper and can deal with crosses better than Almunia and Fabianski combined
Looks like Wenger have already found a replacement for Gallas
our 5 million euros bid for Laurent Koscielny has been rejected but it is believed a bid of around of 7-8 million euros might be accepted and by the looks of it he looks like another Vermaelen type signing
http://www.imscouting.com/global-news-article/Arsenal-bid-for-French-centre-back-Koscielny-rejected/7991/
J any idea why we would even consider biding for Rodallega ?
he’s good but we already have 5 striker for one or max two positions
Speaking in the Sun, Rodallega said: ‘I don’t know if I’ll stay at Wigan but I do know Arsenal have made an offer for me.’
Wigan chief Dave Whelan has paved the way for Rodallega, who the Latics signed from Mexican outfit Necaxa in January 2009, to leave the club after stating he would not stand in the player’s way, should the 24-year-old choose to move to a bigger club.
Nah its a lie wenger already said we are done up front. Maybe rodegella wants a new contract.
BTW does anyone know anything about laurent koscienly cause we have had a 4 million bid rejected. I mean come on Wenger surely u can spend 8 million on this guy he cant be that tight.
About laurent its a barganing technique we start with 5 and we will settle around 6.5-7.5ish which is a bargain in my view
I tried finding some videos of him but couldnt find anything usefull all I know is that he’s great in the air, all top french clubs want him and he’s a clean tackler
Rodallega when he says they made an offer for me means they first contacted Wigan and then Rodallega’s agent contacted him about the offer so I doubt its to get a pay rise but what I want to know why go for him
maybe we are selling Eduardo and Vela and then we will have 4 strikers who can play upfront or on the right wing but I would rather keep Vela than spend 15 million on Rodallega
Ive a feeling this story about Rodallega is bull The Sun saw that Arsenal were linked with him and then decided to build on it by making up bull. If Arsenal do sign another forward I think Fabregas will be gone and one of Vela or Eduardo,also we have Wellington Silva coming next January. I still cant see Wenger adding more fire power up front though. The most players Wenger will sign is four and the chances of four are very slight. As for Koscielny I dont think Wenger will dish out 8 million for him I think Wenger sees him as 4 million rated player maybe going as high as six. When Wenger thinks a player is over valued its simple he wont sign the guy.
4 million for a 24 year old who is considered one of the best if not the best in france is crazy to me.
I have seen him play when he play against Bordeaux and he looked pretty good. He was great in air with the same kind of leap Vermaelen has and knows how to tackle the ball cleanly doesnt concede too many fouls or yellow cards. He maybe need to put a few pounds on but other than that a great defender to play alongside Vermaelen
8 million euros might be excessive since he hasn’t played internationally or in europe but he should command something around the 7 million figure and Arsenal do have competition from Lile, PSG and Auxere although Wenger and CL football will work in our favour
IF Sun hadnt quoted Rodallega then I would have said that it was all bull but when they quote someone it means its true and its 99% sure that Arsenal did indeed make an offer for him but what I want to know is why.
Vela looks a better prospects than Rodallega in my view and even if we sell Eduardo we still dont need another striker
Wellington coming over to train for a month
http://www.tribalfootball.com/fluminense-starlet-wellington-spend-month-arsenal-870071
how did J miss this ?
but does it mean he will play in pre training because wenger will be gone to south africa next month
Andrew been doing some research christian gourcuff says he hasnt a seen a defender get beaten by a player one on one like koscielny and hes a brilliant passer.
I havent seen him but he seems to be highly rated. Andrew do you think hes physical enough? and whats he like on set pieces?
physicality is where I think he’s lacking but I thought the same about Vermaelen but he turned out to be a beast. I hope its the same with Laurent by other than that he’s technically very good, can play as a RB (wenger loves CB who can play fullbacks) and is brilliant in the air
He exactly like Gallas but more taller and less physically robust
he believes in makin clean tackles rather than breaking legs
What I think makes him a great signing is that he’s a very good defender who if he was playing for a top french club or an EPL team will have been above 10-15 million but we can get him for less than 8 million euros
IF we sign him our CB problem will be sorted – Laurent, Vermaelen, Djourou, Sol and Norvedit
but I hope to god we dont waste our money on Rodallega and wenger did say on arsenal tv that he wasnt interested so why buy him?
Andrew does he have pace? His he 6ft 1 or 6ft 2?
Yh i heard he played as a right abck first than moved into central defence. Would be an intresting signing
SuperGunner, relax, I just assume you haven’t seen enough of Morisson because you describe him as a walcott type of player when he is not far from being the opposite. He mostly play in the middle of the park. So even if you saw a couple of MU TV games, I doubt you saw everything of him. If you did see everything, then we just have different opinions.
Bostock is quite physical, now if you saw him against Italy and Portugal U17 you would probably have a different opinion. I agree he was awful nd very disapointing against Arsenal last year though, so I have to admit I will have to see him again to have a firm opinion.
I actually like the fact that you pay so much attention to the technical abililty of a player, reason why I agree with you most of the time