Arsenal have released five players from the Reserves and Youth ranks. Kerrea Gilbert, Luke Ayling, Sam Byles, Rhema Obed and James Dunn are all out of contract with the Gunners from midnight tonight.
All have now become free agents, except for Luke Ayling, who will complete his transfer to Yeovil Town, as agreed two months ago. Journeyman right back Kerrea Gilbert will also head to pastures new after a succession of failed loan spells, although he did appear to be on the cusp of a first-team return, with a selection of Carling Cup run outs. However, Kerrea struggled during a loan spell with Peterborough United in the closing stages of the season.
Under 18 trio Byles, Obed and Dunn were told they would be released in March, and are still seeking alternative employment. The pair all began the season as regulars for Steve Bould’s Premier Academy League winning outfit, but they struggled to impose themselves.
Official confirmation is expected in the morning.
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shame about luke Ayling,we should have kept him 2 more years because he is more technically talented than Bartley .
The rest of them were not good enough but good luck to them
Sorry but I really disagree with the assessment of Ayling that he was technically good, positionally excellent etc.
I’ve seen the lad play a fair few times and I don’t think he was particularly good and the fact he’s been released at 18 when we persevere with some real waste confirms this.
He hasn’t got much pace at and isn’t the or strongest, positionally he was ok but I’ve seen him lose his man in open play time and time again. Set pieces he could manage in terms of marking.
Bouldy had high hoped for him this season after a good spell in 08/09 but he didn’t progress and looked out of his depth
I’m not being funny but if he was that good then surely he’d have done enough to win a contract?
JS did arsenal offer Luke ayling a contract? Or did they let him go. Just interested to know if ayling rejected a contract from arsenal to join Yeovil or whether arsenal released him and he joined yeovil
…who is going to reject a contract from Arsenal to join yoevel town? HaHaHa!
None of these players ever looked anything like Arseanl material. I wish them all well but the right decisions appear to have been made with this group. Thiese departures will hopefully make room for new better players.
Ayling would reject a contract to play first team football ie FRAN MERIDA. Gosh some ppl dnt have common sense
Yes, because Atletico Madrid and Yeovil fucking Town can really be compared…
@Boomer, yes they can because they both present much first team playing time for the player. Fran wasnt getting any at arsenal, so he left for athletico, will Ayling obviously knew his chances were limited so he decieded to move. So yes then can be used as a comparison. calm down
How Gilbert managed to stick around this long i will never know.
WIthout wanting to sound harsh, i think we need to be more ruthless with our younger member of squads. It’s all very well having a wage cap at the top end, but if you hang onto players who are clearly never ever going to make it at the club for too long then that is at the expense of bringing a top class player into the top of the pyramid.
We do not have the 4th highest wage bill in the Prem because we pay our first XI exorbitant wages, we have it because we have too many fringe players!
Would like to hear your opnion on this J if you have a mo.
Cheers
Well, if we have too many fringe players, why do a lot of fans complain we do not have enough depth…?
I see both sides to this. All our fringe players are really young and if they’re simply not going to make it onto the first team, I don’t see much point in keeping them around. I think our problem is that our fringe players aren’t like Anderson or Deco at Man Utd and Chelsea, who have proven their trade elsewhere and can be considered quality backups. And I think Arsenal fans complain about a lack of QUALITY depth rather than simply depth. But at the same time, if there’s a chance that these guys could serve us well, even if its not a big chance, why not give them a chance? That’s how our team has been built over the past 8 or so years – promotion from our youth ranks.
Ayling? Damn that sucks i though he would make it. I hope at least Bartley does.
Agreed because i allways thought that Luke Ayling was highly rated? i guess i was wrong.
So the youth system has failed.. There is so mch hype arnd arsenal youth academy but all i can see is our young players are being released..
Gunnor, the youth system hast failed simply becos we have ran a rule over our youth players and sent those not good enough away. I agree with Chipo that we need to apply stiffer standards to them so that they can really develop and do well at the top level. Life at a top club is highly competitive.You are either good enough or you are shown the way out. Talent isnt good enough and we only hope we keep scouting for better youth players who can make it at the big stage!
Were all of the youth released? or just those who they think are not good enough.
Thats a bit OTT from you there.
That;s a ridiculous thing to assert, Gunnor. Let’s have a quick look at some of our players who graduated from reserves (even if they just spent a few games there) into the first team over the past few years: Fabregas, Flamini, Song, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, Clichy, Gibbs, Djourou, Senderos, Van Persie. Some of those guys have moved on but they have all played important roles in the first team. Our Reserves and Youth program is outstanding, and produces tremendous results. Bear in mind that every year we get a new crop of U18 players and after 2 seasons we have a full squad. If every one of them went into the first team, we’d be swamped. We cut the ones that won’t make it and develop the ones that will (like Wilshere).
with gilbert and obed going we are looking decidedly lacking in young right-backs coming through the youth system. this needs to be remedied, i’ve said so many times.
arsenal should just find the ten best U-21 and best U-18 right backs in Europe, go to their clubs and whop down £250,000 offers for each and every one of them. somebody will bite. better than not having any right-backs coming tnhrough.
Sagna, Eboue, Nordveit, Hoyte, Coquelin, Eastmond, Glasgow …………shit we have no one who can play right back
being a right-back and being able to play right-back are two different things.
i’m just saying we’ve got no specialist right-backs coming through the ranks.
at the top level, teams sniff out weaknesses and use them to kill you. having too many non-specialists in your team is suicide. song’s decent at centre back but barca picked him off immediately. messi’s still going to be around in 7 years, what will he do to nordtveit/hoyte/coquelin/whichever else young player we’ll have in there trying to do a job at right-back.
Well we don’t have to have every single one of our players come through the youth system – look at Sagna. If need be, we’ll have the cash to buy a new starting right back. At arsenal, the youth system is first choice, but there is certainly the possibility of bringing someone in from outside
Also, look at the Kolo Toure case – started as a RM and ended up as a very very solid CB. Until he got malaria and was never the same, he was one of the premier CBs in the world. Position changes aren’t just a part of development as a way to provide cover, they occasionally work out very very well
well with the increasing demand for trophies we really cannot afford to keep players just to see how they turn out. Its clear that the fans do not longer have the patience to wait. So realising them is good as we will stock up first 11 with fresh signings anyway. Nobody wants to see another weak academy players that cannot deliver trophies. Most fans want to win now. Let others develop and we harves when time is right. Let us win and let others do the hard work.
Dunne was released last year, he’s at Exeter City
5 more who played right back last year Yennaris, Boateng, Hajrovic, Angha, Edge, thats 12 players that can play right back across 3 teams can we put the right back issue to bed now? Alright many of these players are better in other positions, but they are not all going to make it in their preferred role, so i am sure one of the junior 10 (excl Sagna & Eboue) will make the transition to become a pretty good rb if not better.
So who’s going to be first choice right back for the reserve and u18 next season
Arsenal youth system is a failure so far coz we are not able to produce quality players. Look at Barca n look at us.. Pedro,bojan, iniesta, messi n al.. Well, i hope in 2 years time thngs will change with the likes of gibbs, wilshere, hmm who else?
How old are these players? how old are the ones who got let go? How old are Gibbs and Wilshere?
There is no failure here, just a real lack of patience from supporters.
Barca’s system is more advanced.
“Rome wasnt built in a day”
Ok I will admit, Barca has a better youth system than we do. Who else does? Take Barcelona out of the equation and we have the best youth system in the world. Besides, you’re forgetting about the other player who have cracked the first team in the past couple of years, not least of whom are Van Persie and Fabregas
Errr, Bendtner, Ashley Cole, Seb Larsson, Muamba…the Academy has plenty of good out put, just because most of them dont stay doesnt equall failure…
the short sighted comments are quite annoying arent they?
Whoever made that comment that we should abandon all our youth efforts and just step in to purchase finished products at first-team level is a complete idiot.
Arsenal’s youth project is one of the key reasons that the club will remain self-sufficient, and always be prepared for restrictive changes in UEFA regulations concerning home-grown players.
Why don’t you take that suggestion all the way to its logical conclusion and just admit you’d like an Arab government with more money than brains to buy the club — in other words, just become Man City.
Are you connected to the philosophy of this great club at ALL???
Moron.
Cool it dudes.. I was jst kiddng but i xpectd more from you..Well, the youth project will be a huge success. Its the new generation which will lead us to glory. Along with gibbs n wilshere we also have eastmond,bartley,lansbury,coquelin n also afobe,freeman,barazite n many others coming up.. Chill!!
shame about luke Ayling,we should have kept him 2 more years because he is more technically talented than Bartley
to whoever said this I ask have you ever seen these two play, and if so either you know nothing or you have their names mixed up, Bartley is technically outstanding, only thing Ayling had over him was strenght, but in the last year Bartley worked on that and way surpassed Ayling, that is why Bartley was brought to Sheffield Utd on loan in the championship and played regular for them while Ayling wat with Yeovile in league 2 and barely played.
People very much misundertood the phrase that Steve Bould rated Ayling highly, Bould rated his attitude, his willingness to play in any position – he was used as a midfielder when he first got in the U18’s, I seen Bould on Arsenal TV over a year ago say that Ayling would make a career in the game but had an awful lot to learn and inprove on, especially technique if he was to make it at Arsenal, and so it has proved.
Bartley has been kept cos the staff believe he has the ability to progress to the first team and has a chance to become a first choice player at Arsenal in the future
Jay any word on Randall, he was one I thought would be let go, he seemed to go backwards last season and with Lansbury, JET, Eastmond and Wilshere all surpassing him I doubt he has any future at Arsenal, has he still a year on his contract
Darren B it’s dunn with no E ,james dunn is with barnet now