The last reserve game of the 2009-10 season against Portsmouth saw a dominant figure in the midfield collect the ball in the centre of the park, take a couple of touches, and then let fly with a rasping left footed drive that ended up in the top corner. From a distance the crowd could of been fooled in to thinking it was an established professional due to his physical presence, yet that couldn’t have been further from the truth. It was actually 17 year old Chuks Aneke, making only his fourth appearance for the Reserves.
Chuks was one of two players Arsène Wenger named as ‘technically perfect’ and his belief was put in to practice when Aneke was called up to the first team and put on show at the members day earlier in August.
For the majority of last season, the soaring figure of Chuks Aneke loomed over the rest of his Under 18 peers, bossing most games. This term he made the step up into the Reserves, and now he peers over men a number of years his senior, including Danny Shittu, and added to his superb Portsmouth strike with two more goals as Arsenal went on to win 5-0 away to Bolton.
However, despite his obvious physical presence, Chuks is an intelligent, penetrating, technical midfield playmaker who made his breakthrough into the reserve team last season and will be hoping to become a main stay this year. Benik Afobe, Luke Freeman and Roarie Deacon have all praised the midfielder and stated that there scoring feats of last year had a lot to do with Chuks who also has the luxury of adding ‘goal scoring’ midfielder to his CV. Afobe, in particular, has stated his admiration for Chuks, who he’s played with since the age of 7, stating; “Sometimes he doesn’t need to say anything, I just know he’s going to give it to me or I’ll give it to him. It’s something that happens naturally, I really enjoying playing with Chuks.”
Unfortunately Aneke missed out on the glory Afobe experienced during the summer with the England u17s due to injury and despite their friendship, both players know they are competing for Wenger’s recognition. Chuks coincidentally finished second behind Afobe in Young Guns Academy Under 18 Player of the Year last season.
Aneke was included in the pre-season squad that headed out to Ireland, starting the first game against Manchester United, which ended in a 2-1 victory. If he is able to maintain his current form, a foot into the Carling Cup squad seems a certainty, especially with Wenger clearly keen on the ‘technically perfect’ starlet.
Aneke is one of the players I will put my money on that he will make our first team
Wenger has kept him under wraps till now but he actually has everything to become world class and successful in England.
He’s tall {6’3}, technically perfect, goal scorer and has an eye for a pass
He may not become a playmaker but he can certainly play alongside a playmaker
I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on loan this year even though he’s only 17
J someone commented in your last article that Valencia are after Szczesny any truth in that?
I honestly think he could take Diaby’s place right now? Why not Aneke is awesome I seen every highlight of him and many others from ATVO. Wenger should give him a start vs Newcastle in CC?
Would love to see JET play against Chelsea he would make Cole look like a toddler coming in from the right? Why not! Peace
Yah, i am sure he can take diary’s place right now. We can also send the rest of our team to reserves and start our whole u18 squad along side Fabregas. That should work.
I have heard so much about him, but never actually him seen play. But I know he is going to be awesome. Was very disappointed he didn’t play vs Spurs, but I am sure he will play in the next round. It’s players like him, Afobe and Wellington that you just can’t wait to see them in the future.
Aneke is a slower version of diaby with a better end product.
But its easy to judge a player in a reserves game.
After all still to this day i go on about bendtner because of what i saw him do at 16 to reserves defenders
not a slower version but a better vetrsion
Daiby is too inconsistent, he can look like the best one game and then become the worst in another
J
can you provide some news on Austin Lipman
he’s a 14 yr old arsenal player who has been included in the under 16s and people who have seen him are calling him better than wilhsere which I doubt.
Any info on the kid will be usefull
You can judge for yourself when he plays in the victory shield october 15th on skysports
Young gun is arsenal still chasing Lacina Traore he’s a future target stricker.
J, i know that aston villa had 6 players sent for trials with u16 for the victory shield. How many arsenal players were selected for trials?
Afobe, Aneke and JET could well be what Arsenal are missing. Physical powerhouses and English
how fast is this boy? i hope he isn’t slow because we could really use a few central midfielders who are fast in the future. Song, Denilson, Cesc are too slow which makes it hard for them to track back sometimes
I don’t see how people think Fabregas is slow for a center mid.
Andrew – Not heard of the Szczesny rumour. I’d treat it just as it is, a rumour.
I believe Austin Lipman is a striker who can play in midfield. He’s quite strong and gets goals.
Deano – No idea. Not many I’d imagine.
From that i take it that the u16s we have at the moment arent that promising? Do you know anything of jack jebb as i heard good stuff about him?
Deano – heard of Jack Jebb’s name, but I don’t know anything about him because he’s not yet in the Under 16’s. Where did you get his name from?
Szcensy wont go to valencia.
valencia have got vicente gaitan a promising young spanish goalkeeper.
Chuks aneke is slow thats the problem like songs pace i would say
Hes got awesome skill, vision, control hes like a bigger version of riquelme but hes slow
I am a diaby fan i think hes an awesome midfielder hes got everything.
not everything he’s inconsistent and I think Wilshere has the upper hand right now
John is right. Diaby has all the tools. People say he is inconsistent if he has one bad gem in 10 games. Most Arsenal fans think everyone is inconsistent
I have never seen him play but I think we could do with someone like him in our midfield; physical presence, technically gifted(that is if everything you are saying about him is true)
Hes not a defensive midfielder hes an attacking midfielder.
Hes like a slower version of diaby.
Hes plays in that number 10 role.
I do like him but there is alot of compeition in that position.
Nico yennaris is a player i think arsenal could do with a very good defensive midfielder who can pass the ball reminds me of javier mascehano.
I like heni lansbury i think could do a great job for us as well
why are people calling him slow he’s not that slow
as for it being a weakness he’s a giant with the dribbling skills of a arshavin or wilshere
he can easily bully his way from the midfield into opponents box and either score or provide the final pass
Diaby isn’t that slow. When he gets up a head of steam he’s as fast as Vieira was, and Patrick wasn’t slow. Their stride is sooooo long that it doesn’t look like they are running, but in fact they are, and they only need 2 or 3 strides to cover what a player of Arshavin’s size needs to cover in 5 or 6. Song is sloe i’ll give you that, but I still think he’s quality!!! Aneke is talented enough to be able to cover the areas of the pitch that he needs to cover without any problem.
agree;d i watched some French Euro 12 qual. games and Diaby was an absolute ANIMAL! and he is fast, just to inconsistent, thats why i want one of these young guns to step up tot he first team and give diaby a fight for that mid field spot.
who was the other player Wenger identified as technically perfect?
Some say Afobe, some say Yennaris. From what i’ve seen i’d say Yennaris.
Wilshere, Gibbs, Lansbury named in the U21s squad, thought Wilshere would be in but didn’t expect Gibbs to be in but they are the play offs so must win to qualify. Afobe in U19 squad, unbelievable that Aneke not been called up.
And none of our players in the U17s squad, do we have any other U17 prospects apart from Ansah and Rees? Though we could see some included in U18 squad for friendly in November.
Ansah? I’d like to see some clips of aneke, sounds like a talented lad, but a lack of pace and fitness at the top level will be exposed, cesc has to bust a gut to cover his part of the field due to his lack of pace.. (see how to pull your hamstring, vol.1)
Diaby isnt inconsistnet FFS! Thats one of those lazy assed critisms that have been thrown at him by iditos who have made uop their mind on a player without considering the facts.
Diaby has been excellent for months. He shouldnt have been any where near the 1st team saturday due to being unfit.
Clueless arm chair amateur pundits do make me larf
Nexxus, Aneke looks in pretty good shape to me!!! I don’t know how you can say he lacks fitmess. He’s only 17 or 18 and he’ll develop physically. If he has the movement and technical ability that our style demands, then he should be able to play in the 1st team, no problem. I don’t know what is so hard to understand about this.
Diaby is not lazy. He’s spent years trying to recover from a broken leg and he has repeatedly come bacl from injuries. He might not be everyones favourite player, but he certainly isn’t lazy.
john – if you compare walcott and aneke which player is the better footballer ? this isnt the 100 metres but football. unless my eyes decieve me walcott cannot trap cement and cannot pass further than 10 yards. Ask him to run in a straight line great. Soon as he stops hes finished.- theres no football brain. whereas aneke has got mad skills similiar to Riquelme, as you say- remember wengers comment about him as technically perfect at 14 y/o. Maybe the problem is you cant get your head around a player his coluur and size not being a defensive water carrier like Viera. Hes no slower than Bergkamp and he was ok.
Anybody who listens to (and repeats) what Chris Waddle says quite clearly doesn’t have any kind of brain, football or otherwise.
Walcott is 21 years old, he’s immensely talented and his progress has stalled because of persistent injuries.
anyone got the link for Anikes goal v blackburn heard it was sick.
Diaby has great technique, and he has height, power and pace. But he doesn’t have the intelligence to go with those attributes, and at 24 it’s too late for him to developing it.
Either you have that vision and speed of thought or you don’t. Cesc, Ramsey and Wilshere have them, Aneke seems to have it. Diaby’s never had it.
After the Spurs game, Wilshere talked about what he does when gets the ball. He said the first thing he does is look to pass the ball forward. If he can’t do that, then he looks to see if he can run forward with the ball. If that’s not on either he passes the ball sideways.
The thing about Wilshere, and players of similar talent like Cesc and Ramsey, is they go through that process of looking at the options available in a fraction of a second. Diaby on the other hand, when faced with a well-organised team, takes an age to come to his decision.
He takes a touch, looks up, takes another touch, looks up again, takes another touch…. then passes it sideways. When there’s lots of space for him to run or pass into, Diaby can be very fluid and dynamic. But when up against a top side he’s still indecisive and delays the pass, slowing our play to a crawl. When what you should be doing against an organised team is moving it QUICKLY.
And nobody tell me he wasn’t 100% against West Brom – I’m talking about his whole career, not just one game. I’ve got nothing against the guy and would love to see him take the next step, but at 24 I can’t see how he’s going to suddenly change his mindset. And with guys 5 and 6 years younger than him already challenging for his place, what chance does he have?
If Wilshere keeps going the way he is, and Ramsey recovers well from his injury, Diaby will find it difficult to get games. And he will still have to contend with Lansbury and Denilson for a place on the bench, two players who do seem to have the intelligence for top level football and are younger than Diaby, despite not having the Frenchman’s height and power.
Thank you Wrenny!!! You have said exactly what i have been unsuccessfully trying to say. I haven`t been able to explain myself nearly as well as you have here. I don`t hate Diaby either, it`s just that his decisoin making is not up to the level that it needs to be. I know he has been coming back from injury, and if he can get back to where he was last year, then that is fine, but I don`t see him dominating matches like his size dictates he can. Diaby IS NOT LAZY!!! He has repeatedly come back from injuries and played well. He just will never become a great player unless he improves his decision making. If he does, then his passing will improve and he won`t give the ball away as much as he does. It`s all down to his decison making.
Aneke compilation
that didn’t work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX14uv5gfng
Lovely languid elegant style
Jamie how do you embed videos into the comment?
wrenny- sorry i dont need waddle to rell me what my eyes can see. if walcott played for another club you wouldnt rate him. as for injuries they dont stop you passing to a red shirt or using a trick to go past a player. messi is 22 and is 10 times the player walcott is without the sprinting speed. hes got 18 months or wellington or jet will take his spot.
walcott is injury prone that’s it
same goes for RVP
both can be potentially world class if they have a season without injuries but it wont happen
and if Messi was playing in england he will be pretty injury prone because of the roughness of PL
Technical players are more or less not welcomed in the PL
I am still not sure about JET even though he looks absolute class in reserve
Asif…Walcott has pretty good finishing ability. He is a goalscoring winger or a striker. Wellington is a bit special but he plays more on the left than Walcott does. JET doesn’t have Walcotts speed but he does have his finishing ability and he is a better passer and dribbler than Walcott. They are 3 completely different players, so it’s pretty hard to compare them. I would give Walcott another year or so at least, because when hea;thy, he is starting to show consistency and an eye for goal. As for Aneke, it doesn’t take a genious to figure out that he’ll turn in to a great player. You’re a dumbass and even you could probably see that he’s special.
I think aneke plays quite similarly to zidane. Unlike diaby he knows when to release a pass rather than over dribble. I agree that he might not be rocket quick, but nor was bergkamp or zizou. He has the abilty to unlock a defense.
Wasn’t Bergkamp timed as the fastest runner in the squad when he was with us?? I’m actually serious. I heard that he was. Zidane was slow though hahaha. I know that much. And yes Aneke reminds me a lot of those great playmakers. He has that kind of vision and technique.
Bendtner will be one of our long term striker, Vela is a great finisher but he doesn’t seem to fit the system so not sure if he will make it long term, I am hoping for Afobe to make it but only a loan spell will show how good he is and can he make it or not. Other than him no other striker is looking likely at least not in the reserves or under 18s
Wellington is being groomed to take over Arshavin’s role as far as I am concerned.
I think Nasri and Walcott will play on the right in the present and the future. I dont think JET will become a first teamer wenger doesn’t even seem to notice him much
Wilshere and Ramsey are already established first teamers and if they are fully fit then they will play before the likes of Diaby, Denilson, Rosicky and Eboue
I didn’t think Lansbury would have made the first team but he can certainly become a squad player or a player in the ray parlour mold and take over Rosicky spot in the future
Aneke is 17 and will probably replace Diaby in the future
Ozzyakup is anyone’s guess and is certainly a 50/50
Frimpong if he can stay fit should make it and should compete with Song in the DM spot
Nortvedit is a very good option for the long tern RB spot a lot like Ramos or Ivanovic of now
Vermaelen and Kos look like main stays but Djourou will surely be sold this or next summer and hopefully Bartley will come in his place and when Squillaci leaves hopefully same will happen with Miquel
LB is already covered with Clichy and Gibbs
as for the GK if Szczseny doesn’t leave this summer then he will be our long term no.1 or wenger will certainly go for a keeper and spend big hopefully someone like Alder
Your totally right, I think Wenger takes a long term view of his squad and will only buy players when another might leave or gets too old.
So in Wengers head he already has replacements lined up in his head.
I disagree about the Vela point, I think he is the short term replacement for Arshavin. Ie: Arshavin probably wont be there in 4/5 seasons time. By this time Vela will be about 26-28 (not sure of his exact age) perfect age to become number one for the left side of the attack.
by this time Wellington will be lined up to replace him.
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.posta.com.tr%2Fspor%2Fdunyadanfutbol%2FHaberDetay%2FOguzhan_Arsenal_da_kalmak_istiyor.htm%3FArticleID%3D45025
so ozyakup is on his last year of contract I know he’s fallen behind but surely a contract should be in the offering
Szczesny, ozzyakup, Nortvedit, Barazite are all in the last years of their contract and I think all four need to be given new contracts
J some info will be useful on this
1 word for you all …. FRIMPONG !!!!!!!
Diaby for me is excellent I disagree He’s got vision it’s just that final ball he’s a clever player he’s a central midfielder breaks attacks starts attack if he can add goals and assists even better but I guys like fabregas ramsey nasri are the creators.
Aneke can`t get ito the first team for me
Denilson is getting better and just 22….so WEnger might want him with song.
[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/160bqmw.png[/IMG]
Arsenal First Team Contracts Date and Expiry
And bla bla are you saying that we dont need a squad or will have injuries in the future we need a squad not one player for every position
I do agree that Diaby has been excellent over the past 18 months and seems to have finally acclimated to the English game.
I disagree that he is being challenged by boys younger than him. In fact, when fit Diaby has always been starting no matter who else was fit, and one might have noticed that AW’s preferred midfield trio is one of Song, Diaby, and Cesc. Everything else being equal, even Wilshere cannot disrupt this at the moment, imho. Even SAF is known to be a great fan of Diaby’s.
As for Aneke, a great talent at youth/reserve level. If I was to compare him to someone though, it would not be Riquelme. Albeit much taller, I think he is very similar in style and technique to a younger Clarence Seedorf.
PPL are crazy about diaby.
The haters want him to do everything ie tackle, defend like a holding midfielder, win balls in the air, increase work rate.
Then after that they want him to do dribble past 4 or 5 players, create a goal, scores goals.
Abou diaby isnt superman he cant do everything.
Diaby for me is quality and will only get better i dont understand the haters.
Diaby has to play because have you seen the height of chelsea players? We need tall players to play i fear abou the set piece.
As for aneke i think ruquelme is exactly what he is, aneke doesnt give the ball away and always seems to shield the ball away from defenders only problem is pace and you would probably have to build a team around aneke
Milo -yes wasnt Bergkamp faster than Wiltord Lungberg Overmars and Henry, you need to take do a bit of research before you confirm your stupidity.
well then by that logic bergkamp was almost as fast as theo walcott, who recently de thorned Henry’s previous record for fastest 40yd dash last season (look it up in the arsenal.com archives if you dont believe me….yall do YOUR research….
Well, well, well! We have come down to the second of the “Big Clashes” this season. Now I would like Mr. Wenger, take a bold decision and have Afobe, Aneke, and Sunu on the bench and start the JET. I will instruct the JET, to get the ball, do not give it away, but give us your best passing game and keep the attack on their goal.
At the usual 62 mins, should he see fear in the eyes of first players, bring these three lads out with one instruction – “Attack” we want this game. Even if it means taking off Arshavin and Rosiciky in the process.
There are those who will say these lads are not ready, but I believe they have a bit of steal which some first team players lack this season.
LOL, if only management and coaching was this simple, we would win every title in site.
“Oi, diaby, stop giving the ball away”.
“Oi, almunia, no more clangers, save every shot”.
Yes, if only management was that easy…
So far Aneke only has prove how good he is against reserve players… that is below championship level! Diaby is proven against fully internationals in WC and PL and CL!
Aneke is no where near the first team right now. But he will be if he keeps playing like he does.
The future looks very very bright and we have some good prospects coming though all the time.
I think players like Craig Eastmond and Henri Lansbury will not make it at Arsenal.
Lansbury, like Eastmond last season, is being given a sniff of 1st team play, but, like Eastmond, he doesn’t quite measure up to Arsenal quality. And, like Eastmond, there are players behind him who do. In Eastmond’s case he was surpassed by Emmanuel Frimpong, who looks a massive gem for the future.
In Lansbury’s case, his greatest problem is the subject of JS’s article above, one Chucks Aneke.
Aneke is already better than Lansbury at pretty much every facet of the game. Many people say they won’t compete against each other cuz they will play in different central midfield roles. But this is nonsense.
Once you get past the pure D-mid player, Alex Song (and even he is being encouraged to get forward more this season) you can see that all the central midfielders are trained to be almost interchangeable. They are taught to be prepared to alternate between attacking, box-to-box or ball control, whatever you prefer to call it, and to be able to operate from the wide position, not a pure winger but an Arseanlized adaptation.
Aneke and Lansbury will have to show the same versatility. AW won’t keep them both and try to separate them positionally…never going to happen. He will pick the very best player as he did when he pushed Frimpong ahead of Eastmond.
Aneke is a huge talent in the making. His potential is unknown but he could be one of the best players in Europe if he respects the H’S…humility and hunger!
i agree that chuks is henri’s biggest comp, but i feel that Chuk’s will be given a more attack minded role, meaning if lansbury gets his shit straight we could (possiblly) see a future arsenal midfield 3 of wilshere-lansbury-Chuk’s. Wilshere has shown he is ready to defend if need be, which can give chuks more room to move up the field and cause major mayhem. In all honesty i see wilshere playing an almost pirlo type role for us; sitting deep in the midfield dishing out balls to the players in front of him, or making a run up the field. in this case (depending on which wilshere starts on) that respective sides full back should lay back to make sure we dont get raped on a fast break as we normally tend to do. But Lansbury will play some role for us over the next few years. I mean, wenger gave him his chance at white tart lane and showed up with a goal and a pretty solid performance. In the next couple seasons, i would like to see JET, Chuks, Lansbury, Nordviet, and Frimpong to have more then “bit part roles for us
some times you have to throw a young player in at the deep end and watch them swim. The difference about youths and seasoned professionals, is that the youths in the game today are fearless, they careless about senior players so-called reputations. They aint got nothing to lose, where as some seasoned players hold unto past experiences. The last game etc.
Some top players will look down on Aneke, Afobe and the JET. And that my friends will be there biggest mistakes.
J or Andrew
Do you think JET or Lansbury will featured against Chelsea. I think JET can be AFC version of Drogba but more skillful? I hope AW wakes up!
FRIMPONG !!!!!!!
All those who say Lansbury’s only problem is aneke are overlooking the lansbury’s true obstacle….
Aaron Ramsey.
great point
Badaman,
You make a very good point.
Ramsey, Wilshere, Nasri, and, IMO, Denilson are going nowhere in the next 4-6 years. The oldest of them is just 23.
Even the likes of a talent like Aneke will have an extremely tough time grinding out space in the Arsenal midfield.
Aneke, Ramesy, Wilshere, Nasri, Denislon (though he’s wrongly chastised) are all very special talents and all very young. I don’t see Lansbury being anywhere near their class. That could change I suppose as he’s only 20, but, again, three of the above group are younger than Lansbury, and Denilson’s just 22, and Nasri 23.
Unless his development sky-rockets in the next 12 months, I hate to say it but I feel he’s a sucker’s bet to make the Arsenal midfield.
Do people now understand why we do not go head over heals and buy buy buy players???
We got chesney, we got afobe we got chucks all coming up in 2 yers time.. then we will rule the world. Until then keeping a place in the top 4 is ok.
Id much rather win a cup with our homegrown players than win it with a bunch of purchased ones…
He is incredibly talented but isnt anyone concerned hes not mobile enough to fit the way arsenal play? its not like hes a hard tough tackling defensive player, his main strength is his creative ability, and im not sure his physic suits that in these days of tiny little playmakers