Arsène Wenger’s recording breaking Arsenal XI failed to overcome Olympiacos in Greece this evening, but while many will label the experimental selection a misjudgment by the Frenchman, the already considerable experience being gained by a group of the club’s most promising prospects is priceless.
A rush of blood to the head from Reserve team captain Kyle Bartley two minutes after the half time whistle was the difference as Leonardo exposed the gap in the back four to claim the winner. Some magic from the Gunners’ talented teenage midget gems, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Fran Mérida proved not to be enough.
Thomas Cruise was shaky and a little predictable at left back but he kept things simple on a night when Zico got his tactics spot on to stifle the young Gunners. Carlos Vela and Theo Walcott failed to hit back at their growing critics after wasting a handful of good opportunities to level the scores, but everything went through the Cesc Fàbregas-esque Ramsey in the middle of the park. No wonder the Arsenal captain is worried about his place in the team.
Gilles Sunu looked bright when brought on for the closing stages but in truth, the longer the game went on, the more the comeback seemed to slip away. It wasn’t through lack of trying and with Mikaël Silvestre talking the charges through the contest, the balance seemed right.
The full-time whistle came and as the fans headed for the exits, Wenger’s class of 2009 look a class with much potential and promise. When or if they go on to lead a new wave of Arsenal talents, its night like tonight when the French professor took the gamble in playing them that will have been key in their development.
Article By – J.Sanderson
That was quick J!
How annoying was it that the commentry team couldn’t pronounce Merida’s name correctly!
What happened to JET? Why was he not named amongst the subs?
that was super quick. you can type 300 words in 2 minutes? a loss but i think everyone had a good game.
Come on J. be honest Wilshere was not good this match..
Wilshere has his moments but not more. Bartley was excellent except for the goal, Merida was great, Vela and Walcott shocking, Ramsey majestic. Biggest talent in GB.
“Arsène Wenger’s recording breaking Arsenal XI ”
huh? did you put this through babel fish after you finished it?
What happened to JET? Why was he not named amongst the subs?
Davo said this on December 9, 2009 at 9:40 pm
registration problems.
For sure, Wilshere wasn’t at his best tonight. I think the fact the boss kept switching the wingers made it difficult. But certainly he didn’t impress tonight.
What do you mean, Samuel?
JET is @ Blackpool on loan.
I think as a team the kids did really well, but most of the players I expected more from were average.
Song was amazing, Ramsey also had a good game… but players I wanted to see (Vela, Merida, Walcott) didnt pose the threat I thought they would… Walcott is understandable, but Vela seems to be loosing confidence, Merida was ok.
I Jack not been good for a while let’s be honest. I don’t think he should be loaned to a premiership team I don’t think he’s ready imo.
JET returned from his loan at Blackpool a few weeks ago, Erik. He travelled out with the squad but wasn’t named on the bench. Whether he picked up an injury or there was issues with his registrations, we don’t know. But he’s been back a while.
Eric – JET is back from loan, was named amongst the squad of 18 but didn’t make the bench. Apparently due to registration problems but I can’t see how this can be the case.
Very impressed with the youngsters despite the defeat. I think ramsey and merida where class and there end product seems so far ahead of theos. shame velas chances didn’t fall on his left hand side too.
Walcott was a striking disappointment tonight. His decision making was off, his timing was off, nothing he tried came off, and he got muscled off the ball too many times. All told, I was pleased with the display, and I thought Bartley had a good game, and I don’t blame him for the goal. It was Gilbert who failed to cover, and who left the onrushing Leornado up to Song to chase back. And we all know Alex isn’t the quickest.
Vela wasted all his chances tonight, and he must know that he is failing to convince the Boss that he deserves a run in the first team no matter how injury ravaged it may be. Tom Cruise didn’t do too badly either, apart from being a tad easy to get past, but he put in a hardworking shift, and I’m hoping that isn’t lost on the Boss either.
The lads deserved at least a draw out of the game, but in football, as in life, you rarely get what you deserve. No major injuries picked up, and I say bring on Liverpool!
I was a little dissapointed at times tonight. Thought Vela was poor, Walcott….why is he taking free kicks??? Give them bad boys Ramsey/Merida.
Thought Bartley did Ok…was certainly at thought for the goal
Ramsey came in to the game, and showed some glimpses of his obvious potential, but also gave the ball awaty alot, paticularly in the 1st half.
Thought Fabianski had a good game!
Wilshere didnt have the best
Song was excellent!
Merida at times looked good, but floatedin and out of the game. But I sometimes forget that there all still kids, and still maintained possesion, just a shame we couldnt put a couple of our chances away
I’m proud of these guys despite the loss. They reacted better than the first team does at times after going down a goal. Ramsey was so good tonight. He could have been named captain!! I think he could be a future captain maybe.
Quality performance, Ramsey + song amazing , merida + gilbert good ,bartley noy bad bit sloopy at the start but calmed down. vela let him self down tonight he needs to start taking his chance! walcott 1st game back so well let him off!! Ramsey the new gerrerd!1
Predicatable really. Theo Walcott? Overhyped. Rubbish. Suno looked sharp. Ramsey class. Vela- not up to scratch.
I think he will be captain when Cesc leaves, easily a Wales captain in the making as well. He looks like a leader and he’s a phenomenal prospect. He has the Fabregas vision but with a better engine and more pace.
Ramsey and Song the only first team talent. Bartley has a chance. Walcott and Vela need to wake up. Fab was good enough as No.2 but need better no.1. Wanted to see Le Coq. Unlucky with goal. Full backs won’t make it. Merida, will need to get stronger as does Wilshere.
People criticizing certain players have no concept of player development. Vela started the season injured and is struggling to find form, that does not make him rubbish. Theo is just back from yet another injury so he was a little rusty, but that is to be expected. Overall for such an inexperienced team they did well. This is not a computer game, this is the real world. Some of you need to get off your high horses and be more realistic in your expectations. It’s not as if they were outplayed or crushed. Olympiakos just used their experience to take advantage of one defensive error. There is no disgrace in that.
Good game from the young guns. Bartley and Ramsey impressed me today. Bartley can step up to the first team in the next time. He’s my CB number 3 behind Gallas and Vermaelen. Ramsey plays very good at the moment.
Defeat is never easy but one has to see it in the right perspective. We played against a team that had something to play for and played with their best team. Against a team in a stadium that is reknown for its hostile crowd. And then we played with a very inexperienced team, controlled most of the game and still it is not good enough for some people.
If we would have lost 5-0 then I would say: bad move Mr. Wenger but now we got no injury for first team players, the boys had a great experience and we could have won the game. In fact should have won the game.
So lets congratulate the team on the pitch with their performance and the result didn’t matter that much to me.
Good game . But wenger glease we need a powerful striker . To plaz and dominate the full 90mn without scoring is stupid!
overall was a impressive performance…ramsey was head and shoulders above anyone in the game-he really should replace denilson in our starting line up…wilshere,walcott,vela disapointed the rest were ok my ratings
fabianski-7..done what was asked,good claims
cruise-6 they targeted him early and he got caught a couple of times but improved as the game progressed
gilbert-6 pretty much the same as cruise maybe a 7 for his confidence on the ball
silvestre-6 not really tested
bartley-6 would have been a 7 apart from the goal and a couple of wasted passes
wilshere-5.5
lacked a good decision,control and ability is there for all but needs to take care sometimes
merida-8 good vision and confident on the ball,always involved and didnt shy away
song-8.5 strong,composed,skillfull,workman-like..if only he cut out the odd silly pass
ramsey-9 stunning performance only lacked a goal,brilliant passing,always availaible,ball seemed to stick to him,worked really hard when he did lose the ball-let down by teammates going forward
walcott-5 poor show,lacked confidence,poor touch,bad execution in everything he done-why was he on the set pieces?
vela-5 lightweight and trying to hard to impress should have scored but wasteful-just not his night
Give Sunu a start against Liverpool instead of Vela? Why not!
Cruise was not so good in my opinion today. i think that he is to slow and not strong enough but he is young and our left defender number four.
Fabianski should play against pool. He is better than the average keeper Almunia and can step up now.
Thought Vela was very poor. In a very young team he looked like a school boy. Was hustled and outmuscled off the ball on numerous occasions and constantly gave the ball away. We just have to get an imposing striker during the JAnuary window. We are just far too light weight up front.
I don’t know…I feel so bad for Theo Walcott:( Man I remember that goal he set up in the champion’s league against liverpool 2 years ago and the goal against villareal in last years quarter finals, not to mention his hat-trick against Croatia and I see a real demon of a player. For me he was at his best 2 years ago for whatever reason. His play in the Champion’s league stood out. I think he might suit the 4-4-2 formation better though:( His first touch is really the only thing that REALLY bothers me. There are so many quality pieces to his game…if he could just put them all together again he will be fine. I still hold out hope that he can become an impact player if not the world star he was hyped up to be. I can see he wants it badly and he always runs for the team. He seems pretty quiet and I really hope he can get back to and beyond what he once was
The defensive line were impressive and calm, except a couple of moments against a good European team. Gilbert can make it in a decent premier league from the performances I have seen this year. Ramsey and Merida gave encouragement. Vela shows weakness, maybe it is the confidence as suggested in this forum
Cesc worried because of Ramsey? Sorry J, but what have you been smoking? In midfield we have 3 spots. Cesc has got his secured, one goes to Song most of the time. The ones who should be worried are Diaby and Denilson…
God some of you guys are simply stupid. Theo Walcott looked dangerous tonight and yes, his execution was poor at times, but he has played 2 and a half hours of football all season. ALL SEASON!
Have you seen some of the touches players demonstrate during pre-season? This is effectively Theo’s pre-season at the moment – hence he played tonight and will not start against Liverpool. It will take time for him to hit his peak levels. Same as Vela.
Also only praise should be directed at young Cruise. His 1st ever outing for the first team in the CL, not the CC as the norm, the CL. Well done young man.
Bartley I think has a big future and offers us the height we desperately lack.
BTW Fabianski was class, he is really pushing to be No1.
I disagree with your comments. I thought bartleys tackle was well timed. And really Gilbert should of been covering the tall centre back.
I agree I thought bartley was excellent in what must of been a nerve racking debut, he communicated well, was very strong, some great tackles and got up to the ball well, this lad definately has a big chance.
Found confirmation that JET is NOT on this list of players registered for Champions League. (Squad list is on page 8 of this PDF)
Am guessing they thought he was there and only realised when it was too late.
The way injuries are going Tom, Gilles and co may see more 1st Team action sooner rather than later!
http://www.uefa.com/printoutfiles/competitions/ucl/2010/e/e_2000450_pk.pdf
‘Thomas Cruise was shaky’, not from what I saw, it’s all about opinions, but for a debut I thought he had a steady game. He also displayed a skill a few other AFC full backs could learn (ie blocking a wingers cross).
Ben Jones – I take my hat off to you mate. Well said.
There is no way, in a million years Almunia is better than Fabianski right now. I just loved the way he came and claimed some crosses and loose balls tonight. It takes so much pressure off of the defence. Almunia is glued to his line most of the time.
I think Cruise is very very good in possession, simply because he never over-complicates things and almost always plays the correct pass. If this kid had pace he will be a top top player someday but IMHO, he’s a better bet than Traore there. Defends better and uses the ball better although i get nervous when he’s faced one on one with a speedy winger. He always needs a team-mate to help double up in those situations.
I think it’s about time Ramsey got a run of games in the engine room next to Cesc and Song. Forget the creative/playmaking side to his game. We know he possesses those qualities (decision-making needs improving which AW has told him), it’s the aggressive and physical nature of his game i loved in this game. He works hard and puts himself about. Great strength displayed by young Aaron.
Overall, i’m very happy with the performance. I don’t think i’ve EVER been this content with an Arsenal defeat.
Exactly ‘R’, i agree completely.
Song and Ramsey showed they are ready for regular first team footie.
Wilshere and Merida proved they need more game time somewhere.
Vela and Theo really need to up their game and quick for our sakes.
Gilbert and Cruise (early for him though) showed that they don’t hold much promise if we’re honest at full backs.
Bartley showed a bit more determination than Silvestre.
Fabianski proved he can claim crosses well but really needs to train on his kicking.
is it me or did wilshere look a bit tired
Best players tonight were Fabiansky, Song and Ramsey (especially in the second half). I thought Wilshere did fine and it was a shame he was brought off. Sunu brought power and Merida had his touches. Vela and Walcott both awful, poorest on the pitch.
Silvestre did fine as well as Bartley, except for a youthful mistake. Gilbert is a very limited player and the second time they got in behind our defence it was he who lost his marker. I would have liked Coquelin or Eastmond to have played there tonight, Gilbert is just so far from being good enough. Cruise did okay for the most parts although couple of mistakes.
Verdict: Fabiansky should start ahead of the waiter. Song is such an awesome DM, only Essien is clearly better than him in the league, MAYBE Fletcher. Wilshere and Bartley could use a loan move, maybe Sunu too. Gilbert is rubbish and Vela really needs to bulk up. He isn’t agressive enough and gets bullied off the ball. Steal Ronaldo’s work out program and put Vela and Denilson on it, maybe even Walcott.
Love Song’s attitude, he gave 100%. Compare that to Eboue against City. I think Song is my favorite Arsenal player, you just got to love this kid.
And yes, forgot to mention. What the hell is this thing with Walcott and set pieces? He is maybe similar to Henry in some sense but he is no Thierry. We had some excellent chances for Merida to hammer home but no, Theo runs up. He shot a terrible penalty against Roma last season but arsenal.com were hailing him for being such a confident penalty taker. maybe it’s an attempt to boost his confidence but no thanks for Theo on the dead balls when you have Jack and Fran there alongside him.
We cannot and should not judge Theo Walcott’s progress until he can string some games together, and as for people critisizing Jack Wilshere he is only 17 years old FFS, and not every kid no matter how talented can dominate a game like Wayne Rooney did at that age. As for Carlos Vela he is not a lone striker so i am not the least bit supprised he played bad last night, because he needs a target man to play off to get the best out of him, and as for Giles Sunu he is not a striker but looks like he could be effective on the right hand side of say a front three.
Good performances from younsgters especially away from home in the CL.
Yes Theo can still improve but he is different to the players we have therefore his asset will always be needed alongside our other combination/intricate players.
Wishere for has had too much time off recently with ankle injury to have any impact plus his still developing his physical power [that players like Ramsey already have] to help him play at that level.
Overall the performance was good but we didnt take our chances and made one crucial mistake at the back. Also all of our left-footed players [including 1st team, reserves & academy] apart from RVP need to seriously improve their weak-foot, very annoying.
We coped well in grecce,but cruise,gilbert and bartley were too nervy,gilbert and bartley especially,cruise cruised through the second half due to lack of pressure against him,walcott is still short of fitness,vela as always wasteful n looked lost,merida,ramsey and song were the men that stood out among the boys.
i was really impressed last night. i thought the young guns put in a terrific performance. especially the likes of ramsey song and bartley, the latter who i cant believe is getting blamed for the goal, it was a terrific crunching tackle, the blame however surely has to be taken by gilbert who reacted poorly. overall i thought we deserved at least a point.
Tom Cruise was excellent considering it was his debut, at a very high level, in an intimidating atmosphere. Kyle Bartley was immense, but for the one costly mistake which wouldn’t have been so glaring if Vela had taken 1 of the 2 really good opportunities he had. Silvestre did a superb job of marshalling Kyle through the game. Fabainski was unlucky to be exposed for the goal, but made a top quality save when faced with the same situation a bit later on.
Overall, i was very impressed with what i saw considering the circumstances – let’s not forget Olympiakos are top of their league, unbeaten, & it was a very difficult stadium in which to play, & yet the kids more than held their own – they dominated for large periods. Both Vela & Walcott are still some way short of full match fitness – if they had have been fully fit, we would have won the game i believe.
My only criticism of the night would be that Sanchez Watt didn’t travel even though we were very short up front, & when you take into account what seems to be a farcical situation with JET’s registration, that’s an embarrassing mistake on somebody’s part within the club. I would expect that kind of thing from the clowns down the lane, NOT a professional football club.
I was seriously impress by cruise. He have a great chance to make it at arsenal. LB might not be his best position but his decision making was excellent. Seems like the holding midfield role got another competitor. He knows how to defend but needs to learn how to prevent cross balls. I saw too many from his side.
Was vela really that bad? I thought he looked good but needs more support upfront. He is a forward who needs a lot of support.
The only man I was disappointing of was Walcott. With so much experience he should be so much better. He have been away quite long time but with so much experience that can’t be an excuse. It was poor decision making many many times. He train and watch the first team play week in and week out… so disappointed.
Sunu looked good to me and should be given more chances. Should have been subbed in so he can play Forward with vela, and Walcott out.
Overall it was and impressive performance. Walcott still have along long way to go before he is world class. Wilshere, merida, watt, sunu and a few more look like they can be ahead of walcott.
I think the reason some people might sound like they are being harsh on vela and wilshire is because they are in contention for first team places and when you judge them in that light they both played very poorly.
People on this and other blogs have been calling for jack to get games ahead of rosicky, diaby, denilson etc and its just nonsense. I think he showed his true level last night. He is very physically small, only 17 and needs a few more years before he can play first team premiership football. I wouldn’t like to see him go out on loan I think he will get badly injured if he does.
Vela is 20, a full international, has been fit for a while and has had games recently yet he was just woeful last night. He has never done anything in the first team while Theo has proved himself on a few occasions with us. With Theo I think its just form and he needs games. With Vela he just doesn’t look good enough right now, needs to go back to the reserves for a while and get some goal scoring form back. If it wasn’t for injuries I don’t think he would be anywhere near the first team, we need to buy a striker in Jan to back up theo, nik and arsh. Vela is not good enough to help us right now. It would be madness to rely on just those 4 to try to win something this year.
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I agree with everything stone wrote and yeah song been my favorite player for a while now.
ramsey, merida, Wilshere is the best young midfield in europe, it will be like iniesta , xavi and cesc fabregas togather, vela needs to fix up his balance, but im still proud of their performence last night
I think its a bit unfair to blame Bartley for the goal, after all he did what any CB would have done and made a challenge. It was just unfortunate that the ball fell to one of the opposition players instead of an Arsenal one. And no one seems to mention how Gilbert was caught out of position for the goal!
That said i thought Bartley was one of the shining lights along with Merida and Ramsey. It was the so called ‘big names’ like Vela, Walcott and Wilshere that left me slightly disappoited.
Although, it was still a good overall performance considering the age of the team and the hostile fans they were playing in front of. The lads done themselves proud
Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshere showed lots of promise. The kids did well. they looked really good. I was pleasently surprised. Way to go garoto. http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
Same old Story, the kids match the 1st team, no height, wont put a challenge in, won’t have a a shot and get bullied.
I’m seriously getting pissed off with it now, this would be ok for an everton, but at Arsenal we need more, I’m all for player development, but realistically there is only 3 or 4 who will make it, Vela & Wishere had a chance to shine tonight and blew it, both should go out on loan immediatley.
Ramsey was Class,
But where are the big strong lads, why are we only producing small kids, would have loved to have seen JET tonite.
Sorry to say but we wont be winning a trophy in the next few years at least unless we vring in some stong big experienced lads.
Dave – Season Tkt Holder
Kentpaul – You said:
‘and as for people critisizing Jack Wilshere he is only 17 years old FFS, and not every kid no matter how talented can dominate a game like Wayne Rooney did at that age.’
Sorry mate but that’s so far from the truth it’s unbelievable. At 17, Shrek was at Everton and only showed his class in brief spurts. He NEVER EVER dominated a game for them. In fact the closest he came to dominating a game in his teens was his Manure debut when he banged in a hat-trick against Fenerbahce, and even then he didn’t dominate from start to finish.
Even Messi at that age didn’t dominate games. Everything Barca did went through Ronaldinho and Messi was part of the supporting cast.
This may sound funny but the closest i’ve ever seen a teenager dominate a game was Cesc when Paddy left and he became the main man in midfield for Arsenal. The other is JW against Rangers, albeit with a big helping hand from Merida. Maybe even Ramsey, last night, he really was brilliant at times.
Dave – I have to agree with that. I came on here and had a good old moan about the same thing after the Man City game. We have too many players who try doing the same things and not enough destroyers coming through. However, any destroyers we have coming through will have to have a technical base to their game. That’s why i love the kid Coquelin. He isn’t the biggest but his tenacity and ‘in your face’ style more than makes up for that. Alongside Song in the first team, this kid will be something else.
Last year’s Youth Cup winning side is all people have to look at. That team had absolutely everything:
Solid defensive backbone,
Two destroyers in the middle (Frimpong and Coquelin),
Playmakers (Wilshere and Lansbury),
Beasts (JET, Bartley, Ayling, Frimpong, Sunu and Watt),
Lightning-quick pace to get in behind (Watt and Sunu)
The weak points of the side were the ‘keeper and the full backs (due to their lack of pace, although they were neat in possession and supported the attacks well), but they were kinda carried along by the rest of the team and ulitimately, did their bit.
totally agree with gunner87, i thought bartleys challenge was a great one and he clearly took the ball, i was impressed to see our centre half finally get up to the ball and close attackers down. however gilberts last of reactions was disappointing, i think merida bartley and ramsey really have a chance at arsenal.
WILSHERE IS 17 YEARS OLD!!!! How many 17 year old are playing in the champions league? He is extremely impressive but if people continue to put this ridiculous pressure, it will not help his progression at all.
Wilshere is not good on the left side, that’s the main explanation of his quiet game. He did more in 10 minutes on the right than in 55 minutes on the left. He is not quick enough to play left winger, his game is all about coming inside from the right to the middle. I’m not worried though, the talent is here
Saw this man-boy Enekea(sp) v Fulham ressies on Tuesday looks good enough to go all the way skilful and tough plus hes 6ft 1 and built like a heavy weight boxer. He looks like a defender with skills of a forward.
people need 2 lay off wilshere a bit..every1 has bad games…henry used to be deadwood in some away cl games,hes 17 and still finding his feet-he,ll be a class act by the time hes 20,ramsey will be world class without doubt-so talented,i think any1 critising fabianski watched the wrong game..he made 1 poor kick and the rest of his game was flawless,cruise is not gonna make it-u can just tell!-ESPECIALLY not in centre mid!