Author: Staff Writer

Samir Bihmoutine is the latest Arsenal youngster to turn his back on a potential career with England, in favour of representing the country of his origins. Bihmoutine has confirmed he intends to represent Morocco next year.

He follows in the foot steps of Conor Henderson, Daniel Boateng, Ben Glasgow, Steven Smith, Philip Roberts, Callum Webb and more recently, Chuks Aneke. All were born in England, but were head hunted by other national team selectors and have since defected.

The nationality issue has been one which has raised many questions, with some, such as Boateng and Bihmoutine, confirming they didn’t want to play for the Three Lions at an early age. However, the likes of Aneke, Henderson and Ghanaian Emmanuel Frimpong all played for England before committing their future elsewhere.

Samir announced his intentions in an interview with Euro Football Zone, in which he revealed his intent to play for Morocco next year. The reasons why more and more players are rejecting England isn’t clear, but none of the players mentioned have been regulars for the youth ranks and its thought that the large number of English players in the system has seen many tempted elsewhere.

Bihmoutine may be the latest, but he won’t be the last. Alban Bunjaku is eligible to play for Albania while Congo could try and use their influence to tempt Benik Afobe away.

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. You can read all the latest reports below.

This report features action from the final day of regular English Championship, League One and Two fixtures. Those players will now return to Arsenal.

Carlos Vela came off the bench to play the final seven minutes of West Brom’s 3-1 defeat against Wolves. Vela came on wide on the left, and should have scored, only for him to hold onto the ball too long and lose it.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas came off the bench to play the final 34 minutes of Cardiff City drew 1-1 with Burnley. Emmanuel-Thomas struggled to get involved, but did have two shots late on that were blocked and cleared.

Henri Lansbury came off the bench to play the final 30 minutes as Norwich City drew 2-2 with Coventry City. Lansbury was also a substitute on Monday, when Norwich clinched promotion to the Premier League. Henri showed some neat touches against City, and provided an assist for Daniel Pacheco just 90 seconds after replacing Grant Holt.

Vito Mannone missed Hull City’s 3-0 defeat to Bristol City through injury.

Sanchez Watt came off the bench to play the final 5 minutes of Leeds United’s 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers. Watt had little time to make an impact after coming on, but the winger did have one good chance, but he dragged it wide.

Benik Afobe started and played 74 minutes as Huddersfield Town drew 4-4 with Brentford. Afobe turned in another solid shift, and scored Town’s fourth goal, with a smart finish inside the box. Huddersfield have missed out on automatic promotion, but will go into the play offs. It’s not yet clear whether Benik will be allowed to take part.

Mark Randall was not included in the Rotherham squad that beat Torquay United 3-1.

Ryo Miyaichi was not in action this weekend as Feyenoord did not have a fixture due to the Dutch Cup Final.

Francis Coquelin started and played 74 minutes of Lorient’s 0-0 draw with Toulouse. Coquelin won a series of tough challenges and showed good energy, in a midfield battle with the much talked about Moussa Sissoko. However, the Frenchman tired in the second half and was replaced. Gilles Sunu was an unused substitute.

Armand Traoré was not in action this weekend, as Juventus play Chievo on Monday.

Wellington Silva was an unused substitute as Levante lost 3-2 to Athletic Bilbao.

Pedro Botelho played the full 90 minutes as Cartagena drew 1-1 with Ponferradina. Botelho played the whole game at left back, and despite delivering some deep crosses, there was nobody on the end of them.

Samuel Galindo was an unused substitute as UD Salamanca beat Rayo 2-1.

Roarie Deacon is set to follow George Brislen-Hall out of the Arsenal exit door, after Liam Brady opted not to extend his contract. Deacon has since joined Sunderland on trial.

The promising winger has been one of the Reserves’ leading lights in recent weeks, including a superb showing at the recent Dallas Cup. However, with a selection of Under 18’s fighting hard for places, Brady has made the surprising decision to release the Londoner, who had been in the third year of his scholarship.

Deacon hasn’t been short of offers, and joined Sunderland on trial this week. He played the full 90 minutes against Preston North End this afternoon, as the Black Cats confirmed their place in the ToteSport Cup final. Former Gunner Jason Banton also featured, and both turned in impressive displays on either wing.

A decision on whether Sunderland sign Roarie is expected shortly.

Oğuzhan Özyakup has opened negotiations with clubs from Italy, Germany and Turkey after talks over an extension to his Arsenal contract broke down. Özyakup’s current deal expires in the summer.

Arsenal have been attempting to secure the Dutchman’s future for a number of months, and made their first offer around January time. Oğuzhan and his agent both admitted they were hopeful all parties would reach a successful conclusion. However, since then, the midfielders relationship with the club has deteriorated.

In a bid to resolve any concerns the player had, the Gunners returned to the table with an improvement on their two and a half year offer, with more money. Yet Özyakup once again rejected it, and is thought to have asked for guarantees over first-team opportunities.

There have been further lengthy talks recently, but Özyakup felt the club had broken promises made to him when he signed, and the 18-year-old formally broke off talks. He has since began to look at offers elsewhere, but has left the door open should Arsenal change their terms.

He is expected to decide on a club in the next month.

Ryo Miyaichi is expected back in London this summer for pre-season training with Arsenal, Feyenoord have confirmed. However, the Rotterdam outfit are still hopeful of re-signing him on loan for next season.

Miyaichi joined Feyenoord on loan in January, and has enjoyed a hugely successful time there, scoring three goals in 11 matches and collecting a number of assists. The two clubs have held initial talks over an extension to the loan, but Arsenal have now deferred a decision until the summer.

It’s expected that Ryo will miss out on a work permit this year, despite a possible inclusion in Japan’s squad for the forthcoming Copa America. That means he’s unlikely to play during pre-season, and will almost certainly move on loan against next season.

Feyenoord’s technical director Martin van Geel told AP today that he hopes Arsenal pick the Eredivisie club, with whom they have an unofficial partnership.

”Arsenal will make a decision over Ryo in pre-season. We have to respect that. He will probably not be playing at Arsenal next season due to English rules and regulations. However, it could be that he will be at another European club.

“Of course we hope we can keep him at Feyenoord. He is already settled over here.”‘

There are suggestions in Holland that any deal for Ryo would come down to how much Arsenal will receive in a loan fee, but FIFA agent Carrie Baird, who follows the Dutch transfer market closely, told Young Guns she expects Arsenal and Feyenoord will find an agreement shortly.

“He’s 18, at one the best training environments in the world and he’s learning. If Arsenal reject their loan extension, it goes against everything Arsenal has claimed, with regards to a collaboration with Feyenoord, and that they are not influenced by money.”

“The money is on him staying at Feyenoord.”

Arsenal will ultimately decide that in the summer.

Arsenal are expected to make decisions in the coming days on whether to take up their interest in trialists Kevin Mbabu and Robert Mirosavić. The duo have both impressed Liam Brady in training stints with the club.

Mbabu has now returned to parent club Servette after joining Arsenal for last weeks Ferroli Cup in Italy, where he featured in every game. The 16-year-old was used at right back, and impressed in a new-look back four which included summer signing Leander Siemann.

Manchester United have also taken a look at Mbabu, but their interest waived shortly after. However, it is thought that he has since received an offer from United, but prefers Arsenal’s Academy, despite being a life long fan of the Red Devils.

The other player the club are interested in is Helsingborg forward Robert Mirosavić. He has undertaken two trials in North London, along with fellow countryman Kristoffer Olsson. Olsson has since been signed, but Arsenal are yet to make their move on Mirosavić.

Robert is a left footed winger who can also play up front. He attracted Arsenal’s interest after scoring 49 goals in 45 games for Helsingborg’s youth team, where he also claimed 24 assists. The stocky wide-man, who captains Sweden Under 16’s, has been compared to Andrey Arshavin, and the two had lunch together at London Colney last year.

The two deals will no doubt depend on Arsenal’s youth team budget, having already paid out on Serge Gnabry, Leander Siemann, Kristoffer Olsson and Jon Toral.

Arsenal wrapped up their Premier Academy League season with a 2-0 win over the MK Dons on Saturday. The result meant Steve Bould’s boys finished on a positive note, after a season which has seen them give back the title they’d won for the last two campaigns.

The poor showing at Under 18 level this term has raised questions over the quality of players the club are producing, but whats the real story, and what should fans expect for next season?

Season Review:
The season began in August, with a tricky double header against Manchester City and Sunderland. A crushing 5-2 defeat to City made it the worst possible start, but they recovered well, to beat Sunderland 2-1 in their first home game.

If August was a hard month, September was even harder. A 2-2 draw against Reading meant Arsenal had scored six goals in their opening three games, and all had come from different sources. A 1-0 defeat to Bristol City was then tempered with an impressive 3-1 win over Aston Villa. Philip Roberts continued his good form with a brace, and the bad form appeared to be behind them. They finished the month with a 0-0 draw with Fulham, which was no shame.

October began well, as Emi Martínez saved a penalty in a 3-2 win over Norwich City, while Alban Bunjaku ran the show and scored as the Gunners followed that up with a 3-0 thrashing of Chelsea at Cobham. However, they then shipped three goals in games against Charlton and Southampton, losing their final two fixtures of the month.

Bunjaku and Roberts carried the side to a 3-0 win at home to Portsmouth in November, but further defeats to Ipswich and West Ham meant control of the group was slipping away. December defeats against Crystal Palace and then Charlton meant they had it all to do after the turn of the year.

January began with a draw against Southampton, but despite injuries to front men Roberts and Ansah, Bould’s boys dug in and beat Portsmouth and Ipswich in quick succession. February seemed like the month when Arsenal would really kick on, but despite a simple win over Crystal Palace, they lost to West Ham, Fulham and Norwich to put huge dents in their points tally.

Ansah returned to fitness in March, and he scored twice in a 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea, before further defeats to Leicester City, Watford and then Tottenham meant it was mathematically impossible for them to win their group, so would be forced to hand back their Premier Academy League title for the first time in two years. With nothing to play for, Arsenal finished the season with two April wins over Cardiff and MK Dons.

The Verdict:
The season will no doubt go down as a poor one, but Bould will take comfort from the fact he was forced to do without a striker for much of the campaign. Ultimately, that’s where the title was lost. Arsenal created many chances, notably away from home, but lacked the relevant fire power to finish teams off. That, coupled with the fact many of his squad were playing Academy football for the first time, meant this finish inevitable.

Star Players:
This years stars have been difficult to come by, but the emergence of goalkeeper Emi Martínez has been significant. He won a work permit last summer, and has been in superb form all season. A couple of penalty saves coupled with a handful of genuinely superb stops have put him right up there in Arsène Wenger’s thinking. The other main man has been play-maker Alban Bunjaku, who has risen from relative obscurity to score, assist and dominate many a midfield battle. More of that will be expected next season.

Other mentions go to defender Martin Angha for his brace and committed displays, and the versatile Samir Bihmoutine who has impressed in defence and on the wing. Forwards Roberts and Ansah have also shown very good signs, in the rare occasions they’ve been fit.

Next Season:
The planning for next season has already begun. Arsenal have moved to add height and power to the team, with Jon Toral, a powerful defensive midfielder, joining from Barcelona, while the tall and strong centre back Leander Siemann has arrived from Hertha Berlin. They’ve also added a speedy winger, in the form of German Under 16 international Serge Gnabry, while Swedish play-maker Kristoffer Olsson should also feature at some point. That, plus the addition of new scholars and the exciting Under 16’s such as Austin Lipman, Chuba Akpom and Jack Jebb, mean competition for places will be huge.

The new signings, the newly promoted Under 16’s, plus the experience this years crop will have, mean Arsenal will have one of their most exciting Under 18 teams for a long time next term. The only question that remains, is if Steve Bould will still be their to coach them.

Arsenal have made decisions on the futures of on out-of-contract Reserve team duo Jernade Meade and George Brislen-Hall. Meade has been offered a new deal, while Brislen-Hall has been released.

Liam Brady had been mulling over the two 17-year-olds for a number of weeks, before finally make his choice recently. Brislen-Hall has been a regular for most of the season, but a series of injuries and mixed performances saw him replaced by Meade, who can also play in midfield, before injuries allowed George back in the team.

The Under 18’s are rebuilding for next season after a terrible campaign, and the expectation is that Scottish youngster James Campbell will be the first choice left back next term, with the exciting Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill acting as a deputy.

It’s not yet clear whether Jernade has signed an extension to his scholarship, or professional terms, however, the deal is only a year long. Meade will now hope to maintain his fitness over the summer, and impress in the Reserves next season. Brislen-Hall has already begun the hunt for a new club.

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