He is regarded by Arsenal fans as one of the most exciting young players in the country, and this evening the profile of Benik Afobe went international as the youngster bagged his first goals for his country in the opening fixture of the SkySports Victory Shield against Northern Ireland.
Benik was joined by Hale End colleagues Josh Rees and Chuks Aneke in the England Under 16’s squad, the latter joined Afobe in the starting XI. Despite playing out of position, Aneke burst inside from the right on two occasions, the first drawing a save following a long range shot.
Yet the threat possessed by the Lions were evident, and after Cormac Burke faltered in possession, the rampant striker Benik was onto the ball in a flash to coolly slot home.
A shot and a half hearted cross would come next, but the hosts were JUST holding on. The half time whistle saw Aneke replaced on the right flank, Rees also came on. The adjustment helped prise open the flood gates.
Afobe’s pressure brought an own goal straight after the re-start, Ross Barkley made the win safe with a third via his head. From then on it was all about the young Gunner. He completed a brace by latching onto Garbutt’s pass for 4-0, capping off a perfect evening.
A smart save denied the striker a dream hat-trick, before he was rested in place of Jake Fowler. The Boro’ hit-man got number 5, Man Utd’s Ra’vel Morrison completed the emphatic victory late on.
A fantastic result and performance for England, and as the famous saying goes…. ‘This Boy Can Play’
Article By – J.Sanderson
1st!?
Nice wrap up Jay.
Yet another striker coming through. This one seems to be a real talent.
The score could have been 12 nil we were that good and i can honestly say this was the best England U16’s game i have seen and also this bunch of players technicaly looks alot better than last years lot IMO
He certainly can play, what a talent!
http://www.arsene-al.co.uk
You should probably change the title to N. Ireland as some people may be pedantic about that.
Great performance though and I would like to see more of this squad of players.
They play football the right way and are good technically.
Obviously it’s only one performance but promising signs are there.
Especially Afobe, he looks a very promising prospect.
I hope he lives up to his full potential. We could have the next Adebayor here possibly.
i bet he is allready better at finishing than Henry.. when is the next england game? might try to catch a stream..
The next England game is on Halloween against Wales
wen wenger said a couple of players had nothin 2 learn technically he didnt necessarily mean only 2 he meant at least 2 with others either there or nt too far off
ANDD AS FOR THOSE FINKIN JAY SIMPSON WONT MAKE IT DNT 4GT WENGER ORDERD HE BE PROMOTED 2 U-18S WEN HE WAS JUS 13 SO HES RATED HIGHLY BY THE CLUB N HE WILL BE GIVEN CHANCES 2 PROVE HIMSELF FRM DER ON ITS ALL HIM
Anyone got a link to the highlights of this game?!!
i bet he is allready better at finishing than Henry.. when is the next england game? might try to catch a stream..
BooMeR said this on October 4, 2008 at 2:46 am
fucking hell, i am stoked about the kid as much as anyone but blimey, are you really trying to say that a 15 year old is a better finisher than the greatest striker of the century? really? maybe once he’s had a couple years in the first team but bloody hell!
As much as I love the kids and their potential to create exciting future Arsenal teams (hell, I read this great blog), I think maybe some of you lot are going a bit crazy in how you read young guns. Anyone remember dead-cert to become as good as Henry- Aliadiere? Seen him keep the Boro bench warm lately? Absurd amounts of hype help nobody, being calm and collected supporters of players development (and remembering the risks attributed to every early career) does.
anyone think ‘TOPGUNNA’ could be Jay Simpson himself. lol
Samuel. Henry said that Lupoli was the best finisher in the whole of Arsenal, when he was only 18 I think. Finishing comes very much naturally. I’m not saying that Afobe is a better finisher than Henry, I haven’t even seen him play. But you can be a great finisher at a very early age.
holy crap, dont know why I said henry meant adebayor!
J how come there was no rhys murphy or luke freeman playing are they not good enough, or are they too good for that age???????????????
J Sanderson, Is there any chance of Arsenal stealing Louis Laing from Sunderland, He looks like an arsenal player through and through.
As for Afobe, I expect him to take U18s by storm for 2nd half of the season or next season when others ahead get promoted or released
wen wenger said a couple of players had nothin 2 learn technically he didnt necessarily mean only 2 he meant at least 2 with others either there or nt too far off
TOPGUNNA said this on October 4, 2008 at 7:29 am
—————————————————————
When Wenger made that statement, Chuks Aneke, Afobe and possibly Nico Yennaris
were all 14 years old
When Wenger made that statement regarding the 2 players who could play he was talking about Wilshere and Frimpong.
They were 15 at the time so it probably wasnt those 2 but who ever it is, lets hope they development well and make it to the 1st team.
Highlights ?? Anyone ??
U18’s won 2-0 Deacon and Freeman
Hi, guys! This is Fabregas #2 BTW!
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I’ll link to your web blog on it, you know, if you have one!
I’ve already linked to my favourite blog, Young Guns! Can you guys link to me? Thanks!
Oh, and great article, like always.
How good is Deacon?
Bit erratic today but took his goal well and comfortable with both feet,
Who cares which two Wenger was talking about? Just because they may be technically ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean that they’re certain to become regulars for the first team. Hell he might’ve been talking about Jason Banton.
I don’t know if I should point it out but the most impressive player on the pitch was the Sunderland lad Louis Lang (he’s white by the way). A centre half passing the ball like Hoddle. Quite remarkable as David Coleman used to say.
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I cant wait for this kid to break through. HE NEVER DOESNT SCORE. Ok thats probably a lie but i really cnt remember reading a review of a match where he was playing and for him not to have scored.
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