Author: Staff Writer

James Dunne will attempt to thrash out a contract with Championship side Charlton Athletic this afternoon, after his week long stay with the Addicks came to close.

Dunne returned to North London during the middle of January after Nottingham Forest decided against extending his loan spell. Since then, Liam Brady has reaffirmed his stance that the midfielder is not wanted at Arsenal, and has since helped organise other opportunities.

James played the full 90 minutes of Charlton’s Reserves’ 3-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday, and after impressing, Phil Parkinson opted to invite the former Wimbledon man to first-team training.

The 19-year-old was pencilled in to start the Gunners Reserves League South clash against Tottenham last week, but after the game was postponed, he immediately made the trip across London.Parkinson was reportedly delighted with James during the week, but remained coy on whether it would lead to a permanent deal during an interview yesterday.

“He did well in training on Tuesday and followed that up for the reserves”.

“We’ll have another look at him on Friday and then we’ll sit down and decide what we’re going to do there”

With that, it looks likely that Dunne will bring to a close his Arsenal career. The highlights of his stay in North London include a run out against Barnet in pre-season, and scoring the only goal against Birmingham City in the first live Reserves game broadcast on Arsenal TV. Lowlights include a handful of injury problems including a broken leg, and being sent off twice in a week in 2008.

Article By – Jamie Sanderson, with thanks to Daniel Quilter.

The only criticism you could have labeled on Nacer Barazite since his switch to Derby County, is that the winger has not scored enough goals.

His numerous assists have been vital in helping The Rams push up the Championship table, but for somebody who plays week-in-week-out, he should be scoring more.

This evening – against Blackpool – Nacer again racked up another assist; but went one better this time. With Derby already comfortable through a Kris Commons double and Paul Green’s well taken strike, the 18-year-old produced some magic to wrap up the evening.

After collecting possession deep in Blackpool’s half, Barazite stepped up through the gears and accelerated towards Matthew Gilks’ goal. Naz jinked his way beyond a duo of attempts to bring the run to a premature end, before unleashing a left foot drive from the edge of the box. Despite taking a small deflection on it’s way past Gilks, the goal was something special.

Barazite is developing well with Derby, and after showing his new defensive prowess at the weekend, Arsenal are sure to receive a more complete player in the summer.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Henri Lansbury – Scunthorpe 1-0 Rotherham United

Henri Lansbury’s Scunthorpe United are off to Wembley to face Luton Town in the final of the Johnson’s Paint Trophy, after beating Rotherham United 3-0 on aggregate.

Gary Hooper’s second half strike sealed the victory, after a 2-0 win at Glanford Park in the first leg of the semi’s. Lansbury made his debut for the Iron from the bench at the weekend, and despite showing some tidy touches, he found himself back among the substitutes for the biggest game of Scunthorpe’s season.

The tie was a rather poor and uneventful one, but Hooper’s superb finish in the 74th minute sent Nigel Adkins’ men through to Wembley where they will play Luton on April 5th.

In the 84th minute Henri emerged in place of the goalscorer Hooper, and operated behind Paul Hayes as time ticked down. The England Under 19 skipper only had 3 touches of the ball, and will hope to have his loan extended to enable himself to be in contention for the final.

Other Loanees news to follow…

Article By – J.Sanderson

Benik Afobe’s rapid rate of development is simply phenomenal. The free scoring striker eclipsed Jack Wilshere’s Reserves debut record yesterday, when he entered the field aged 16 years and 4 days.Although he only featured for the closing 10 minutes, his inclusion in the squad capped off what has already been an explosive season so far.

The Dagenham born England Youth international has had a hell of a week. After being one of the youngest players selected for the Three Lions Under 17 side, Afobe then shone when given a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to train with the Brazilian National team at Emirates Stadium. He got stuck in, as the photo shows, and even bagged a brace against Inter Milan stopper Julio Cesar in a training game.

Benik’s big break came after 40 goals in 33 appearances for the Under 16’s last season, resulting in Liam Brady making him full time in the summer. Since then England recognition has followed, and his pedigree of 4 goals in 3 games suggests Arsenal have a goal scoring machine on their hands.

His Under 18 debut brought a vital equaliser against Fulham, and to really show his quality, Afobe added the icing to the Gunners cake when he scored on his Youth Cup debut at Sunderland.

Yet despite his rapid rise, little is said or reported on arguably the best young striker in the country. However, that seems to suit the 16-year-old, who will no doubt become an exciting player in his own right.

Jack Wilshere’s significant dip in form has taken much of the focus off the Youth side, but in Afobe, Arsenal have another starlet worth all the attention.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Arsenal and Aston Villa went head-to-head in Reserves League South this evening, knowing that a win for either side would have dramatic consequences on the final destination of the League Trophy.

Just four points separated the two clubs before kick off, and a win for the Gunners would cut that gap to just a point. However, a win for the hosts would all but kill of any hopes Neil Banfield’s boys have of winning the silverware.

7 of Steve Bould’s Under 18 regulars made the step up, whilst the bench included a host of young talent who should feature more and more over the next 12 months.

Mannone
Eastmond – Nordtveit (c) – Bartley – Cruise
Watt – Frimpong – Coquelin – Mérida
Emmanuel-Thomas
Sunu

Subs – Ayling – Evina – Freeman – Afobe

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Whilst Arsenal’s first team will contest an F.A Cup replay with Cardiff City this evening, Neil Banfield’s Reserves face an equally season crunching clash, as they travel to the midlands to face Aston Villa.

Like their first team counterparts, the second-string are fighting with Villa for supremacy in the League. Arsenal currently sit second in Reserves League South, four points behind their Claret & Blue opponents, knowing that a win tonight would blow the title race wide open.

Aston Villa are the current Champions, and although the Gunners knocked them out of the Youth Cup in December, Banfield’s boys are still smarting from a 4-1 romp dished out at Underhill at the start of the season.

The two clubs may be situated far from each other, but make no mistakes, tonight is a derby against two sides that have a strong disliking for one another. In the last four encounters, three Arsenal players have been dismissed, and a whole host of Villlain’s have gone into the book.

For tonight’s 7pm kick off, Conor Henderson, Rhys Murphy and Ignasi Miquel will sit out through injury, while Youth Cup hero’s Gilles Sunu and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas will form a make shift strike force.

Young marksman’s Luke Freeman and Benik Afobe will provide back up on the bench, but they’re unlikely to be called upon.

Francis Coquelin partners newly signed professional Emmanuel Frimpong in the middle, and Fran Merida joins Sanchez Watt on the wings.

Mannone
Eastmond – Bartley – Nordtveit – Cruise
Watt – Coquelin – Frimpong – Merida
Emmanuel-Thomas
Sunu

The fixture is a 7pm kick off at Hinckley United’s De Montfort Ground. Check back immediately after the full time whistle (around 9pm) for an in depth Match Report.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Arsenal’s Under 16’s edged out their Charlton Athletic counterparts on Saturday morning, after finally returning to League action following several weather related postponements.

Steve Gatting’s boys faced a similar sort of challenge to that of Steve Bould’s Under 18’s, as the Addick’s showed their Academy has excellent strength and depth.

Charlton ran the young Gunners close, and found a way past Daniel Bentley twice. However, pint-sized winger Jernade Meade halved the deficit, before free scoring Zak Ansah added to his growing reputation with a composed brace.

Zak is following in his father’s footsteps, as Andy Ansah was a much travelled midfielder, who notably appeared for Southend United, where he scored 33 goals in 157 League games. Andy was recently a judge on Sky One programme ‘Wayne Rooney’s Street Striker’, and a former actor on the football drama ‘Dream Team’.

Ansah junior is tipped to be an even bigger name than his dad.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Welcome to this weekends Loanees Watch – Young Guns’ analysis, reports and updates on the progress of the young starlets currently plying their trade away from the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal currently have thirteen Reserve team players gaining experience elsewhere. Armand Traoré and Jay Simpson remain in the top flight with Portsmouth and West Brom respectively, whilst Gavin Hoyte, Nacer Barazite and Rui Fonte are playing Championship football for Watford, Derby County and Crystal Palace.

Further down the divisions, League One sides Leicester City, Northampton Town and Scunthorpe United have Kerrea Gilbert, Paul Rodgers and Henri Lansbury, while fellow defenders Abu Ogogo and Rene Steer will ply their trade with League Two Barnet and Gillingham. Two prospects are cutting their teeth aboard – Vincent van den Berg at Dutch minnows FC Zwolle, and Pedro Botelho with Spanish link club UD Salamanca.

In this update you can read about the following players in the following games.

Reports:

Nacer Barazite – Derby County 1-4 Manchester United – (62 Minutes)
Gavin Hoyte – Watford 1-3 Chelsea – (90 Minutes)
Henri Lansbury – Scunthorpe 0-2 Bristol Rovers – (45 Minutes)
Kerrea Gilbert – Leicester 1-1 Swindon – (90 Minutes)
Armand Traoré – Portsmouth 2-0 Manchester City – (Injured)
Pedro Botelho – UD Salamanca 2-1 C.D Xerez – (90 Minutes)
Rene Steer – Gillingham 0-2 Rotherham United – (Unused)
Abu Ogogo – Barnet 0-2 Notts County – (Injured)

Read more →

Young Guns celebrates a special anniversary today, as it’s one year, one month and one day since the website’s very first article, and i would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their continued support.

We’ve been dedicated to providing you with the latest news, views and updates surrounding Arsenal’s Reserves & Youth for over a year now. Indeed, we’ve been so committed, we actually missed the official date of our anniversary.

See below for some stats:

* 5,470,915 Views
* Best Day – 45,962 — Monday, June 23, 2008
* 792 Articles
* 27,894 Comments
* 92 Users Subscribed Via RSS

We’d just like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their support, encouragement and opinions. Young Guns has come a very long way since our first article – which was an exclusive update on Nacer Barazite’s fitness – and that’s mostly because of our desire to bring our loyal readers the very best product possible.

A big thank you must also be sent to Alex Zimmermann over at Carlos Vela News, as his graphics have helped the site develop a professional look and feel. Also a shout out to all my fellow bloggers who helped me settle in, and now I’ve subsequently returned the favour with.

On a personal note, I hope you have enjoyed the past 13 months, and you’ll stay locked for more updates. Here’s to another year, and beyond!

Kind Regards

The Young Guns Team.

Article By – J.Sanderson