Wenger Hands Aneke First-Team Trial

Arsène Wenger has given Chuks Aneke the opportunity to win a place in his plans for the new season after inviting him to train with the first-team this week. Aneke also took part in the members day training this afternoon.

The powerful central midfielder, who signed professional terms last month, was the star of Arsenal’s Premier Academy League winning outfit last season, scoring eight goals. Aneke has long been identified by Wenger as one of the most promising youngsters in the Academy system and he’s been watching over the Newham-born prospect for a number of seasons.

Chuks was called up to be with the first-team earlier in the week after Conor Henderson failed to recover from injury. The verdict is still out on the Frenchman’s opinion on Ireland Under 19 international Henderson, but free-scoring Aneke will be given the chance to impress. He took part in the members day activities today, playing alongside Denilson in spraying balls wide during crossing drills. The 17-year-old also joined in with ‘the Green team’ during free practice.

The England Under 17 regular was certainly impressive, and with his powerful and physical style combined with superb vision, a Carling Cup run out later in the season is very much in the question.

93 thoughts on “Wenger Hands Aneke First-Team Trial

  • August 5, 2010 at 2:45 pm
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    It was good to see him alongside Lansbury, JET, Nordtveit and Frimpong today. I hope everyone of them will get a place in the first-team squad.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 2:47 pm
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    Thanks JS, i think Aneke is a big prospect for the gunners. despite being powerful, is he tall?

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    • August 5, 2010 at 3:37 pm
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      6’3 if I am right

  • August 5, 2010 at 2:47 pm
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    I love watching Aneke player. Such a talented player…brilliant touch and vision. I thought he did very well in the training match and did this ridiculous bit of skill. I feel that hes the next one to make significant inlets into the Arsenal squad..and hes just turned 17! Wow!!

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 2:57 pm
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    Would love it if he gets a go in the carling cup this season, he’s got all the prerequisites to make it as a great player, interesting to see if he leapfrogs any older reserve players

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  • August 5, 2010 at 2:58 pm
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    Yh i like aneke hes a top top player i just feel he lacks pace to make him an outstanding player.

    Lansbury, traire, fabregas, van persie, bendtner, ramsey were doing alo of running today.

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 3:15 pm
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      to bring them, minus ramsey of course, up to speed because they have missed a lot of pre-season with injuries and holiday

    • August 5, 2010 at 7:08 pm
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      Ramsey didn’t do any running today. He only managed to walk out onto the pitch, not even jog like all the others. Bendtner didn’t train at all. He was walking round wearing flip flops all day!

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:02 pm
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    John did you mean to say Ramsey if so he could be back much sooner than expected

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 3:46 pm
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      sadly wenger said a couple of days ago that now that he is starting to run again, it will took in a optmistic case 3 , 4 months , so we should see aaron playing only after the new year….
      altough we all now he is a case for next season

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:05 pm
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    So does anyone know which of our prospects were included in the first team photo?

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  • August 5, 2010 at 3:07 pm
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    na, he still got some metal in his legs, and he is just strengthening his legs.

    He was actually walking without crutches like 2 weeks after the legbreak, in order to fasten the buildup, but he is still far away from being able to return…

    aneke on the other hands looks very promising, a midfield of Wilshere-Frimpong-aneke could easily be the carling cup version of the Cesc-Song-Diaby midfield!

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 3:39 pm
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      that midfield looks like a real possibility
      I think Wenger was impressed by what he saw from Aneke in the last reserve game

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:08 pm
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    Hows ramsey doin J? Lansbury? has he recoverd enuf?

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    • August 5, 2010 at 3:17 pm
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      Has Eastmond sliped down the order in terms or Defensive Midfielders?

    • August 5, 2010 at 3:20 pm
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      Eastmond is out injured..
      But on the other hand, so is Lansbury, so maybe he has slipped out,or maybe he is going on loan!

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  • August 5, 2010 at 3:15 pm
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    ramsey is in the slideshow…

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 3:20 pm
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      Was Wellington involved today?

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:20 pm
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    May be the rumours about rosicky are true indeed

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 3:35 pm
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      what rumours about rosicky and why?

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:28 pm
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    when you say ‘the green team’ .. were they being conservative with their runs and not tearing up the grass too much?

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 3:32 pm
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    Ramsey has been back training for a while. He hasn’t been joining in with the main stuff, but he’s doing light training to build up the strength in his leg. I believe he still has the pins in, which will be removed when the bone is healed.

    He’ll be back contact training around Christmas time.

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 3:37 pm
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      J
      there were reports of him being back by October I guess that might be too early for the kid

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:35 pm
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    Aneke is making really good progress if he keeps going this way he should force into arsenal team by 19. After Wilshere Aneke has been the second impressive youngster in our youth system
    I think Aneke with his phsyique is ready for the cup games and I really hope to see more of him in the reserves this year

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 3:38 pm
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    has anyone got any other photos of the team training??? i’m very inpatient. :D

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 3:39 pm
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    The rumour is about rosicky joing galasataray and wenger might sell him and promote aneke instead. This is just my assumption guys so dont get angry.

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    • August 5, 2010 at 3:40 pm
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      rosicky is too important and aneke is too young in a couple of years maybe but not now

    • August 5, 2010 at 5:14 pm
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      Agreed. I doubt there’s any truth to that report, at least the Aneke portion. The kid is 17 and wasn’t expected to be involved w the first except maybe the carling cup. Wenger wouldn’t force this kid into the first team like that, just look at Jack Wilshere last year as a prime example…

    • August 5, 2010 at 5:56 pm
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      I dont think aneke would be a replacement for rosicky.
      If thomas left I think it would allow wilshere, vela and possibly JET more 1st team chances.
      I cant see why rosicky is seen as important to the squad. Hes obviously an incredibly talented player, but has never shown his best form for arsenal largely because hes never been fit for very long. Imo wilshere is on the verge of becoming something special, and vela needs matches to fulfill his great potential also.

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:41 pm
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    J is there any truth that Lansbury is being targeted by West Brom and a season long deal is possible

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  • August 5, 2010 at 3:48 pm
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    wellington was not there .in the cross bar challenge 4 players hit the post and they were walcott on his second try and frimpong on his second try but lansbury hit it in one shot but the best of all was szczesny in one shot.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 3:49 pm
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    J…I know we recently signed a deal with a new company that will expand Arsenal TV…do you know if they’ll start showing the full reserves matches again…and what about showing the u-18 matches?? IMO I think because of the quality of play and the interest surrounding Arsenal’s young talent there would be a lot of interest in Arsenal TV if they were to offer such a service.

    Perhaps protecting the talent from prying eyes may prevent this though.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 3:58 pm
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    Did this guy play for auxxere?(spelling). Or is it just the exact same name lol, the seem to play in the same position aswell as being young and French

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 4:28 pm
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      Haha, I you’re not refering to the former Auxerre player Kanga Akalé? Cuz that guy is 29 years old and from Ivory Coast. Aneke is from England but has extraction from Africa by the way.

    • August 5, 2010 at 4:34 pm
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      Haha maybe I am, shows how much I know:)

    • August 5, 2010 at 4:48 pm
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      Don’t worry. It’s human to be mistaken, you know. :-)

      Anyway, I really hope that Aneke got what it takes to break into the first team in couple of years!

  • August 5, 2010 at 3:59 pm
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    J, can’t you start a campaign for Arsenal TV to show all reserve and U18 games live. ill sign up if you did and i would sign up to Arsenal TV

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:01 pm
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    Haven’t watched Aneke enough to form an opinion, hope he gets a chance in the carling cup this year.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:12 pm
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    since arsenal will play a few u18 games i nthe academy league behind closed doors in order to prevent scouts form other teams to scout our youngsters, I highly doubt that they willstart showing the U18 games on atvo.

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 4:48 pm
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      ok calm down. why would anyone leave Arsenal youth as we have the best youth system.

  • August 5, 2010 at 4:19 pm
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    Thats just hypocritcal arsenal scout for young players across the world bit rich of us to have games behind closed doors so that scouts cant scout our players lol.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:22 pm
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    It’s great news that AW has brought Chuks Aneke up to train with the first team. He’s an excellent prospect and it will only help him to play alongside the best in the world.

    If his development continues at this rate it will probably be curtains for the likes of Randall, Henderson, and Lansbury. Randall has some skill on him and Lansbury does too (despite being more remarkable for how much over-hyping surrounds him), and Henderson works very hard and has some confidence but none of them three has ever impressed me as having anywhere near the talent of Chuks Aneke.

    Don’t be surprised to see Lansbury, Hendo, and Randall fall further down the pecking order as Aneke’s development progresses.

    And don’t forget Ozyakup, another 17 year old with vision and passing ability that is growing each season; a player who seems to have potential to develop in the Fabregas model.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:29 pm
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    Only wilshere will make it at our club out of the british academy product as AW does prefer a foreign option instead.

    When Mourinho comes in he will see the passion and commitment of english players combined with their technique and will hoof out the diaby and denilson lazy pigs out

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 4:50 pm
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      stop your dumbass comments

    • August 5, 2010 at 6:07 pm
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      Lol. Wenger’s obsession with walcott blows you out the water. That kid has been given chance after chance, despite never impressing, when vela and merida have both been many times more impressive with their far fewer chances. Vela has as much raw talent as anyone at the club but hasnt been given the opportunities to grow, whereas theo can just walk into the side. He even knocked eboue out the side last season once he regained fitness, when manu had had a great start to the season.
      We all know gibbs is extremely likely to make it at arsenal as well as wilshere, and arsene overstepped coquelin to give eastmond a few chances last season, with which he impressed. He even gave randall plenty of games, and hes done pretty well, but clearly isnt quite on the level of some of the others.
      Ultimately wenger gives chances to the players he thinks deserve it. If anything he FAVOURS english players when he can. 99 times out of 100 I’ll back him, even when sometimes I think he leaves out talented players like coquelin or barazite, in favour of an english equivalent, because he knows the players better personally and he just knows the game better. His theo obsession just annoys me however. How many times does the kid have to fail before he faces some consequence? At least drop him further down the squad, dont just give his place at the expense of eboue or rosicky just because he’s fit.

    • August 5, 2010 at 9:52 pm
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      Obviously insane or on drugs.

    • August 5, 2010 at 11:14 pm
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      yes mourinho is famous for developing young player ….not look at his Chelsea record and he doesn’t care about he club he manage. He is a check book manager with better tactical sense than Wenger maybe but he is a selfish cunt and never in my life i want him at arsenal.Lot of manager i woudn t mind having here when Wenger leave but Jose is not And please the passion of english player is a Myth they just follow money and believe in their hype.

    • August 5, 2010 at 11:52 pm
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      Frimpong will make it and he’ll make it this season! He’ll start at Anfield.

    • August 6, 2010 at 1:19 am
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      Passion and commitment of English players……

      World Cup ring any bells?

  • August 5, 2010 at 4:37 pm
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    Ver y good news indeed.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:39 pm
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    MONTY,

    Don’t be an idiot. If Aneke continues to develop like he is, he will make the first team, and it looks very likely that JET will achieve that goal in a few weeks. So, not sure what your on about with the ignorant xenophobia.

    The British boys that don’t make it aren’t good enough. So when Henderson, Lansbury, and Randall push on down the road to the Championship cry your xenophobic tears all you want, but proper footballing minds will know they were beaten out by better players, some British, some from other countries. The bottom line is that the players who stay at Arsenal will be the best of the bunch. Nuf Sed!

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:47 pm
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    Shut it Monty you div

    Wenger trumps Mourinho whos a chequebook manager that jumps from club to club. The sign of a quality manager is consistency at the same club. AW has kept us competing for years on a budget that should see us rivaling the Stokes and Wigans of the EPL.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:47 pm
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    Monty

    You are a sad oittle bigoted twat.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 4:52 pm
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    @ Filip, Aneke is from Nigeria but was born in England. He is a big prospect.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 5:00 pm
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    dont know much about this Aneke kid is he a top shotter in the Viera or Batista mould bcos he looks BIGG

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 6:15 pm
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    Everyone should basically forget about Ramsey until January roles around. I am hugely looking forward to going in to the new season with some interesting academy options looking to push for games. I can’t help but think it’s a real shame that, apart from Nordveidt they all play in midfield. I am sure Nordveidt will get games eventually but I would be very surprised if it was this year.

    Who looks like the best prospect to realistically go on to contend for a CB position in the future from our youth team/reserves? I must say that I have never been impressed by Bartley.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 6:25 pm
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    So JS have we promoted 5 players from the youth team to the first team squad?

    That would be 30 players dont we have to have 25 man squad?

    So can we confirm jay thomas, lansbury, aneke, frimpong, nordtveit have been promoted and not be going on loan?

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 6:28 pm
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      don’t forget that u21’s don’t need to be registered buddy :D

    • August 5, 2010 at 6:47 pm
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      Don’t think Aneke is promoted but the others will be in and around the 1st team and maybe go out on loan later

  • August 5, 2010 at 6:26 pm
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    lansbury is wearing number 12 on the pictures from the official arsenal site.
    i think emmanuel-thomas has 18 but im not certain. so it looks like there have been promotions to the first team.

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  • August 5, 2010 at 6:29 pm
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    J, do you think players were wearing official squad numbers today? Henri Lansbury can be seen on the .com site wearing numero 12!

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  • August 5, 2010 at 6:36 pm
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    @KC Henderson is Irish you numpty…NOT British.

    Glad to see some English support in the comments this time around.

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 7:24 pm
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      @ AG, Henderson is English, He was born in Sidcup and has represent England at U16 however due to family ties and different views of development with our Eng dinosaurs coaches, he is representing ROI.

  • August 5, 2010 at 6:57 pm
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    This info comes from another site: Nordtveit, Emmanuel-Thomas, Eastmond, Lansbury and Frimpong have all been promoted to the first team squad. I think that could be quite true as why else would they be training with the other first team members? Unless the reserves always do on Member’s Day, but I’m not sure about that.

    Apparently it’s:
    Lansbury – 12
    Frimpong – 35
    Eastmond – 25
    Thomas – 18
    No word on Nordtveit.

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 8:39 pm
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      I think wenger will keep Frimpong, Wilshere, Nortvedit and JET in the first team
      If a good PL offer for Lansbury comes in then he will probably be loaned out
      no idea about Eastmond

    • August 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm
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      Under the new ruling, the senior squad can use any under 21players it wants as well as the 25 listed.

  • August 5, 2010 at 7:19 pm
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    to whoever just said that vela and merida hav been more impressive then theo walcott in their appearences—ur an idiot!

    any real arsenal supporter will tell you that although theo has not yet reached a great level of consistency–he is an absolutley amazing player and definatley the best english player in the squad so far! people seem to forget how many imes he has proven what he can do….croatia…barcelona…liverpool…come on man! how the hell can anyone compare the likes of carlos vela or fran merida to walcott’s performances!!??
    seriously, the sooner we all get behind theo and our team – the better!

    personally i think wenger has to shoulder the blame…theo is not a natural winger…imagine what he could be doing if he were through the middle!???

    Reply
    • August 6, 2010 at 3:47 am
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      imagine? he has played there and nothing happened.

    • August 7, 2010 at 8:48 am
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      I like walcott, as a winger quite a lot. He learns to bend a cross in and who knows how far he can go. Sadly, he’s not stocky enough to make a real difference though. Here’s a central striker who he’s not (not to mention the taller ones, the ones just as fast at their peak with more skill or the muggers like Rooney). I point to this following Tevez video for proof :

      http://fliiby.com/file/458098/6tumomv0eh.html

      It’s just 10 goals from his long, at this point, career. Think of how many of those Theo’s pace ALONE could create. He needs to learn, that’s it. I hope he can, I do.

  • August 5, 2010 at 8:41 pm
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    @filip; Chuks Aneke is of Nigerian parent and his full name is Chukwuemeka Aneke. He is from the same tribe as Nwakwo Kanu (KANU 25), Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha (Bolton 10) & John Obinna ‘Obi’ Mikel (Chelsea) which is Igbo from Eastern Nigeria. The Igbo’s apparently like to shorten their name which often become fanciful hence the name Chuks.
    @John, the 25 squad rule doesn’t include under 21 and as such you can register as many as you like. Therefore the earlier they are integrated the better. Up The Arsenal.

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 9:43 pm
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    Hi -= I have 2 season tickets sitting together at Emirates for 2010/11 season – mail me on fergus.hay@ogilvy.com if interested

    Reply
  • August 5, 2010 at 9:56 pm
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    Nice to see Chuks Aneke in the first team, the lad is a real prospect. I hope he’ll choose Nigeria instead of England

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  • August 5, 2010 at 10:16 pm
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    If Wenger knew Aneke was good enough to challenge for a first team position, then why didn’t he play him in the pre-season?? Maybe he’ll play a bit against Legia Warsaw in our last pre-season match??

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  • August 5, 2010 at 10:28 pm
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    Aneke has his African roots in Nigeria but was born and grew up in England. I am an arsenal fan and well a passionate one too but what belongs to Nigeria is theirs. Thats why i love Frimpong because there’s every possibility he plays for Ghana.
    Well, i hope other Africans who grew up in England can see reality just like, Agbonlahor and co because there is no place like home.

    Reply
    • August 5, 2010 at 11:17 pm
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      i think frimpong say he will prefer to play for Ghana already

    • August 6, 2010 at 9:51 am
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      frimpong will play for ghana
      because he will get more playing chance there
      and
      because he’s passsionate about ghana

      aneke I think might prefer england over nigeria

    • August 6, 2010 at 12:29 pm
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      Shut up you racist person, he was born in England, he learned how to play football in England so why not play in England, people that think like you is what is wrong with the world. Im not English but lived most my life here but if i was born in England, i would play for England, say what you want but history is full of immigration, so what you saying everyone should find out where they descend from and go play for that country. your so stupid it annoys me. End of the day we are all brothers and sisters of this world, its not like we are from different planets so where we are born we should play for. peace.

  • August 5, 2010 at 10:42 pm
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    Segzeal, Agbonlahor hasn’t ever set foot in Africa. Only he should be aloud to say where and for whom they want to play for. Not some jealous fan. Frimpong I understand. i live in Canada. I was born in Canada. I am Canadian. but I don’t BELONG to Canada. It isn’t anyone else’s right that I should call myself Canadian…get my point?? People don’t belong to the country that they are born in. There is a such thing as freedom of choice. If you want to be a citizen of a certain country, then you shouldn’t have anyone standing in your way. Call me a communist, but that is just how I feel. Back to Aneke, I hope he makes it at Arsenal and i hpoe he has success playing for whatever country he chooses to play for!! I’m hoping he has a successful trial and can make the first team and add a little more competition to an already packed midfield!! Come on Chucks!!:D

    Reply
    • August 6, 2010 at 1:36 am
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      fantastic post.

    • August 6, 2010 at 11:53 am
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      Good call Milo. As a proud East Ender who followed Arsenal both home and away games and a few England matches along the way i always felt you play for where you were raised. However I moved to New Zealand 9 years ago and if Ricky Herbert (all whites manager) called to see if I still had my boots I would wear the Jersey with pride. So let Chuk’s prove his good enough for international football first then give him the freedom to make the decision he feels is right for him

    • August 6, 2010 at 12:00 pm
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      i like simpson but he was never a premiership player (yet) and few season in the championship could make him a lot of good.

      Good luck jay

    • August 6, 2010 at 12:04 pm
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      I think he wont become a good PL player for a long time to come

  • August 6, 2010 at 11:54 am
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    good luck to simpson. hope he does well wherever he plays.

    Has anyone got highlights for the Arsenal v Boreham wood game??

    would really appreciate it.

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  • August 6, 2010 at 12:10 pm
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    Very disappointed that Jay Simpson will not be given a chance to show what he can do.

    How do we know he isn’t Prem quality? He hasn’t even been given 25% of the chances that Denilson and Walcott have to play in the first team….and neither of them have shown they are good enough, yet Mr. Wenger persists with them.

    All Simpson has ever done is score goals everywhere he’s been played. I guess his goals aren’t spectacular enough. Maybe he should fanny about with tricks and flicks and walking the ball into the net rather than just tucking away every chance he sniffs.

    Good luck to Jay Simpson. He deserves to play for a team and manager that believes in him. Make Arsenal and Mr. Wenger regret letting you go.

    Reply
  • August 6, 2010 at 12:15 pm
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    Rhino gooner wenger seees these players in training jay simpson isnt that good.

    Althought wenger did say he rated him highly but i think he will be one of these late developers who does well in 4 or 5 years time.

    Anybody who saw denilson train yesterday in memebers day knows what a player he is.

    I thought looked fantastic brilliant sliding tackles and great body movement to go away from defenders.

    Theo walcott also looked impressive pace, trickery, movement, touch, control.

    Reply
  • August 6, 2010 at 2:12 pm
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    Almunia and Fabianski apparently look good in training too. But when it matters in matches, they don’t cut it.

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  • August 7, 2010 at 8:40 am
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    JS :: great comments on Rambo. As for Chuks Aneke, he’s a talent and I cannot wait to see him go on loan to a low end championship squad and absolutely maul some defenders. I think, and would argue that, he’s a goalscoring threat that needs to prove his skills in the championship after the C.C. to demonstrate if he can handle the rigors of the Prem. Till then I think he will train with the first team and be better for it, much like Henri Lansbury if he takes advantage of the chance given Eastmonds falling and Fab4’s/Ramsey/Denilsons absence.

    Keep up the good work, keep an eye on the loanee’s if you all can. Those will be some of the bigger stories of the year (along with what will happen with barazite/randall/hoyte, if they’ll follow the paths of simpson/hoytes brother OR gibbs). Cheers.

    Reply

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