Young Guns | Arsenal News

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.

Sanchez Watt started and played 80 minutes for Leeds United as they beat Scunthorpe 4-0. Watt scored the first goal and then started a move which led to the second. You can view video highlights, including Sanchez’s goal, here.

Kyle Bartley played the full 90 minutes at centre back as Sheffield United drew 0-0 with Coventry City. Bartley turned in another good performance, but picked up a yellow card late on for a poor tackle.

Henri Lansbury played 72 minutes on his return from injury as Norwich City drew 1-1 with Cardiff City. Lansbury, playing the final game before his loan spell is due to expire, played well on the right, delivering several superb crosses. Manager Paul Lambert confirmed after the game that talks over an extension had begun, but it was down to Arsenal to decide.

Vito Mannone missed Hull City’s clash with Barnsley due to injury.

Benik Afobe missed Huddersfield Town’s game against Walsall due to injury.

Cédric Evina was an unused substitute for Oldham Athletic as they beat Plymouth 2-0.

Mark Randall came off the bench at half time as Rotherham lost 2-1 to Southend. Randall was fined for missing Rotherham’s fixture in midweek, after he refused to stay in the team hotel and instead drove to the game. However, his car broke down on the way, and he was forced to miss the game.

Gavin Hoyte missed Lincoln City’s game with Wycombe due to injury.

Wellington Silva was not in action as Levante lost to Real Zaragoza. The Brazilian travelled with his new team mates to the game, but watched on from the stands.

Francis Coquelin missed Lorient’s clash with Lyon due to injury.

Armand Traoré played 79 minutes at left back Juventus beat Bari 2-1. Traoré turned in a solid shift, and was replaced with 11 minutes of normal time left.

Pedro Botelho played the full 90 minutes as FC Cartagena lost 3-1 to Rayo Vallecano. Botelho won Cartagena a penalty after being tripped in the area, but Victor’s goal was as good as it got for Cartagena.

Samuel Galindo is current nursing a broken ankle and did not feature for UD Salamanca this weekend.

Arsenal’s Under 18′s strolled to success in the Premier Academy League last season, winning it for a second year running in some style. However, despite their comfortable run in the league, their cup run was far from convincing, ending with an abrupt 2-0 loss to Ipswich in the fourth round.

It came as quite a surprise, considering Arsenal’s success in the league and the talent they boasted, including Emmanuel Frimpong and Luke Freeman. Yet one year on, there is a reversal in fortunes, with the Under 18′s struggling in the league, yet making an impressive start to their cup run.

A competitive league has seen several teams stake a claim for this year’s title, with Arsenal finding the going tough. Impressive displays, including a 3-0 win against Chelsea have too often been followed with a poor result the following week.

Despite recently ending a three match losing streak in the league with a respectable 1-1 draw with title challengers Southampton, Arsenal find themselves floating in mid table and somewhat off the pace. With the likes of Aneke, Afobe, Miquel and Özyakup all making the step up to Reserve football, the young Arsenal squad have sometimes looked a little out of their depth, and unless they can find a consistent run of form, look likely to miss out on the league.

There have certainly been signs of potential in the young Arsenal squad and despite the varying results, the focus of youth football still remains the same; to help develop young talent and fulfill their potential. Any young, aspiring footballer will tell you differently; results matter and there is no better place to turn a frustrating season in to a prosperous one with victory in the FA Youth Cup.

Like so many teams, the cup can bring a welcome relief from the rigors of league football, and after an emphatic 6-1 demolition of Darlington in the third round, the cup seems Arsenals most realistic chance of silverware.

The FA Youth Cup is easily the most prestigious competition in English Youth football and Arsenal certainly take it as seriously as any other club. It is a chance for the club to show off their blossoming youngsters, whom they put so much time, effort and money into helping mature into well educated footballers.

Arsenal face Chelsea in a mouthwatering fourth round tie, after the holders convincingly beat Sunderland 2-0 on Thursday. The tie will naturally bring the return of vital players such as Aneke, Özyakup, Miquel and barring injury, Afobe who will return from Huddersfield, to try and help Arsenal progress to the next round.

All these players are a year older, wiser and stronger and have a real chance to bring the cup back to Arsenal and, perhaps, even help kick start Arsenal’s league campaign after an indifferent first half to the season.

The route to becoming a professional footballer is a long and arduous one. The consistent knock backs and struggle to keep focused with the pressures of life make it incredibly difficult.

Few know those difficulties like Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. The Argentina winger, who won World Football of the Year for a second successive time this week, suffers from a muscle problem which stunted his growth. Many believed he would always be too small to cope with the rigours of professional football.

After starting out with Newell’s Old Boys, he moved to Barcelona, after turning down a move to Arsenal. Lionel’s parents didn’t want their son to play in England, favouring Spain.

Messi has revealed all about what it takes to become a professional footballer, and to go from a player many thought wouldn’t make it, to being wanted by Arsenal and Barcelona, to becoming the World’s best player in a revealing interview with FHM.

You can read this, plus conditioning advice from England rugby player Toby Flood, in this months brilliant addition. To top it all off, you can get £1 off FHM when you order it online. Fantastic value a truly exceptional read for those who wish to become professional footballers.

 

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Arsène Wenger has confirmed the club have not been in contact with Southampton over Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but refused to rule out a move in the future.

The Daily Mail claimed last night that Arsenal had agreed on a £5 million deal with the Saints, and that the transfer would be concluded in the next few days. However, a story shortly after on Young Guns said the club had been scouting the 17-year-old, but no talks had taken place. Wenger confirmed this today.

“I cannot speak about that. If we go any further with any player, we will inform you. The rest will be speculation. We are not close to signing anybody at the moment.”

The Frenchman also confirmed another story on Young Guns this week, that Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi will head to the Dutch Eredivise on loan. Arsène mentioned Feyenoord had been in touch, along with fellow Rotterdam outfit Excelsior. A move will be completed shortly.

Elsewhere, Arsenal have rejected Hull City’s attempts to sign Vito Mannone on a permanent basis. Mannone has previously expressed his desire to stay at Hull if the Gunners decide to sell him, but chairman Adam Pearson admitted he was rebuffed and told he isn’t for sale.

Finally, Wellington Silva was officially presented as a Levante player this afternoon. You can watch the video of his presentation here.

You can Bet on Football at Bet365.

Arsenal are continuing to scout Southampton winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but no move has been made over a transfer as yet.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been turning in rave reviews in League One, after being promoted to the first-team at the start of this season. He scored on his first professional start in the Carling Cup, bagging the second goal in a win over Bournemouth. He has since gone to become a regular in the Saints first-team, with a growing number of Premier League clubs sending scouts to watch him.

Arsenal first became interested in the 17-year-old after he played for England Under 18′s against Poland in November, a fixture in which he again impressed in. Liverpool and Manchester United have sent representatives on a regular basis, while the Gunners have only been fleeting admirers. Young Guns revealed they had begun to send scouts late last year though, and were present when he scored against Benik Afobe’s Huddersfield Town, and again in the 6-0 drubbing of Oldham Athletic earlier in the week.

Manager Nigel Adkins has confirmed Premier League outfits have been interested, but said they would only accept “Theo Walcott money”. He has since retracted that statement, saying Alex is not for sale. Liverpool have had the most significant interest, sending their Director of Football Strategy Damien Comolli to watch the winger on numerous occasions in recent weeks.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is an skilfull right footed winger, who has drawn mass comparisons to Arsenal’s Theo Walcott. Both are blessed with electric pace, but many believe Alex is ahead of where Theo was at the same age.

Southampton are believed to want around £10 million for the Portsmouth born prospect, although they would be prepared to take the money in large incentive based installments. Alex has two and a half years left on his contract at Saint Mary’s.

Welcome to the inaugural Young Guns web chat, hosted by editor Jamie Sanderson. Due to popular demand, you can put your questions to Jamie in an hour long chat. He will try and answer all of them over the 60 minutes.

If the concept takes off, it will become a regular part of the website, and will feature bloggers, journalists and former players. To ask a question, fill in the form at the bottom of the window. The window has an auto-fresh function, so you don’t have to leave this page. It starts at 7.30pm UK time.

Young Guns Web Chat

You can follow Young Guns off the site, on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Young Guns is three years old today. We’ve been bringing you updates and analysis on Arsenal’s Reserves and Youth teams and players since the 13th of January 2008.

The concept itself has been around for even longer, closer to five years, but under the name Young Guns, we celebrate our third anniversary today. The development and input from Gooners worldwide has been exceptional, and 2011 promises to be another fantastic year.

You’ll be able to catch regular Young Guns features in The Gooner fanzine, available outside the Emirates on match days, along with regular articles in the Arsenal Norway publication The Gunners Post. We’ve also launched a brand new iPhone/iPod application, with an Android one in production, due to popular demand.

With over 10 million unique hits, over 7000 Twitter followers and over 1800 Facebook ‘Likes’, the following from Arsenal and football fans has been fantastic, and we’d like to take this opportunity to offer a huge ‘thank you’ to everybody who has read, commented or followed us off site in the past three years, and we look forward to your contribution in the coming years.

One new regular feature will be a monthly web-chat with editor Jamie Sanderson. It will start from 7pm UK time. The first edition starts this evening, and is your chance to have all your questions answered by Jamie right here on Young Guns. Stay tuned to our social networking profiles for more information.

Elsewhere, Arsenal will play Chelsea in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup after beating Sunderland 2-0 today. The fixture, due to be played on the 19th of January, is at Stamford Bridge, with a 7pm kick off time.

Arsenal go into the London derby as the favourites, but know they’ll face a massive challenge against Chelsea, who are the current holders.

Further a field, Wellington Silva was greeted at Valencia airport by a media scrum as he prepares to begin his loan spell with La Liga outfit Levante. You can watch a video of him arriving here.

In transfer news, Millwall have confirmed Arsenal rejected their attempts to take Craig Eastmond on loan until the end of the season. Manager Kenny Jackett admitted he was willing to give Eastmond regular playing time, but the Gunners have refused to let him leave.

Ryo Miyaichi has had his initial work permit application rejected, Young Guns can confirm. The Japanese winger will now follow Wellington Silva out on loan this month.

Silva officially completed his move to Arsenal today, as the club purchased the remaining 35% of his ownership from Fluminense. He has now agreed to join La Liga side Levante on loan until the end of the season, when the Gunners will try again to win the Brazilian a visa.

Miyaichi is in a similar situation. He has now arrived in London and signed a five year contract, and is currently training with Steve Bould’s Under 18′s. Arsenal’s application for a work permit for him was rated at 50:50, but it has gone against Arsène Wenger.

The 18-year-old will now go on loan, but interestingly, Spain is not being considered as the primary destination. Carlos Vela, Pedro Botelho, Samuel Galindo and now Wellington have all moved the Segunda  after failing to win visas. Arsenal will instead look to loan Miyaichi out to the Dutch Eredivisie.

A move has not been decided on yet, but Feyenoord are the front runners, along with Nacer Barazite’s Vitesse Arnhem. A deal should be completed in the coming days.

Ignasi Miquel is in the Arsenal squad to face Ipswich Town tonight, Young Guns can confirm. The Spaniard keeps his place in the first-team after being named on the bench against Leeds United at on Saturday.

Miquel was widely expected to be part of Arsène Wenger’s team for the Carling Cup Semi-Final, after he was not part of the Reserve team which lost 10-1 to Aston Villa on Monday. He was in the stadium, though, cheering on his team mates from the stands.

Arsenal are currently experiencing a centre back crisis, with Thomas Vermaelen going for an operation on an Achilles problem while Sébastien Squillaci picked up a knock against Leeds. Wenger is also keen to rest Johan Djourou, fearing a recurrence of his troublesome knee problems which have dogged his fitness in recent years.

A number of English based newspapers say Miquel will start against Ipswich, but this is unlikely. Alexandre Song dropping back to centre half is a more realistic option, something the Frenchman confirmed he was thinking about today when pressed on a possible defensive signing.

“We have solutions internally, with Miquel, with Alex Song, who can play centre back, and with Squillaci. Sébastien should come back very quickly.”

Miquel has never made a professional appearance for Arsenal, but did feature against Barnet in pre-season.