Month: July 2009

With Arsenal’s Under 18’s set to join their Reserve counterparts in pre-season training next week, attention is starting to turn to next season. Pre-season fixtures are a key part to building up to the new campaign and you can see the complete classification of the games the Reserves and Youth’s will be playing in the coming weeks.

A selection of youth players will be on show when Arsenal lick off their pre-season with the annual clash with Barnet on the 18th of July. Two days later a squad consisting solely of young players will take on Lincoln City at Sincil Bank. Steve Bould’s Under 18’s will then participate in the Toomey Trophy, which will be hosted by Southend United over the weekend of July 25th and 26th.

A similar squad to that which takes on Lincoln City will then take to the field against Maidenhead United on the 28th of July, and then complete pre-season with another yearly clash, this time with Boreham Wood on August 4th. A selection of starlets may travel to Austria with the first team for the traditional training camp and double header with Szombathely Haladas and SC Columbia. A lucky few could also take part in the Emirates Cup on the weekend of August 1 and 2.

So Arsenal’s Reserves and Youth complete schedule is as follows:

Arsenal V Barnet                                                      Arsenal V Lincoln City
18th July 2009                                                            20th July 2009
Underhill, Barnet FC                                              Sincil Bank, Lincoln City FC
Kick Off: 3pm                                                               Kick Off: 7.30pm

Toomey Trophy

Arsenal V Southend United                                Arsenal V Fulham/Everton
25th July 2009                                                            26th July 2009
Roots Hall, Southend United FC                      Roots Hall, Southend United FC
Kick Off: 3pm                                                                 Kick Off: 3pm

Arsenal V Maidenhead United                         Arsenal V Boreham Wood
28th July 2009                                                           August 4th 2009
York Road, Maidenhead United                      FC Meadow Park, Boreham Wood FC
Kick Off: 7.45pm                                                         Kick Off: 7.30pm

The relevant ticket details can be found over at Arsenal.com. Young Guns will be offering full coverage of all of these games and will cover any first team fixtures which have signifcant young players involved.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Arsenal have booked out four hotel rooms for a one month period with Arsène Wenger believed to be welcoming a selection of Brazilian’s to the club for trials, Young Guns has learnt.

The hotel in question is the same one used famously by Andrey Arshavin as he nervously waited to complete his move to Arsenal in January. The nationalities and ages of the players are unknown yet it’s thought one room is for returning wing-back Pedro Botelho, and that the other three are also from Brazil and are all youngsters.

They would join, or may even include, Mirassol centre back Luis Gustavo Conte and Fluminense winger Wellington in spending time at London Colney. A second look at the pair wouldn’t be the most bizarre thing, but it would be a surprise as they already impressed when they spent 7 days with the club around Christmas time.

The news is encouraging as Manchester United have already shown the benefits of investing and taking a firm interest in the Brazilian market, and Wenger has already reaped the rewards of talent from South America with Edu, Gilberto, Denilson and the aforementioned Pedro Botelho all making the switch in recent years.

The latter has just returned from a loan spell with Salamanca and it appears Wenger may been looking for a player to send to the Spanish Segunda outfit for next season. There will be more to follow on this one once we get it.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Derby County chairman Adam Pearson has confirmed his side are keen to sign 19-year-old midfielder Mark Randall on loan for the coming season, describing him as ‘the type of player we’re looking for’.

The classy starlet has been made available for loan after an indifferent season with the club following a three month spell with Burnley. It now seems the next 12 months will decide whether Randall will make the grade at Arsenal, or be sold on. Should the latter happen, there will no doubt be plenty of suitors, yet Pearson makes it clear any agreement would strictly be a loan one.

“Mark Randall is a player we are certainly aware of and falls into the bracket of the type we are looking to bring in on a long loan.”

Burnley were also linked with his signature, along with that of Kieran Gibbs, but those reports were unfounded. It’s expected Pearson will make contact with Arsenal in the coming days and bring the youngster in to begin training early. Mark was present as Arsene Wenger put the squad through their paces this morning, but it’s already been made clear that he won’t be adding to his 11 first team appearances for the Gunners this term.

More to follow.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Young Guns announced it’s search for a new blogger a week ago today, and after being inundated with applications, we’re delighted to announce the seven people who have made it through to the Semi-Final stage.

We asked potential Blogger Idol winners to tell the judging team exactly why they believed they should win the competition in under 200 words. Our judges have been studying each entry and summing up ‘pro’s and con’s’ before making a final decision. We are now proud to reveal those seven names, in no particular order.

Ben Jones
Joe Best
Lee Hackett
Kazeem Atanda
Nick Love
Tom Quinn
Nick (No. 35)

We would firstly like to thank everybody who entered. The team were very impressed with everybody who took the time to apply and we’re positive that all the entrants could forge a career for themselves within the blogging world. However, the seven above have moved a step closer to writing for Young Guns on a regular basis, and we’re delighted with them so far.

Up next, is for the seven to show us what they’re all about. We’d like them to choose a player from our Player Profiles, and write about them. We’re looking for some interesting facts and a classy yet informative style of writing. You have until Friday the 10th of July 2009 where the entries will be put on offer for our readers to vote for. We will then get a final three names, before one final challenge.

Once again, thank you very much for everybody who entered, and we look forward to the next round of the competition!.

Article By – J.Sanderson

Carlos Vela can consider himself truly unfortunate after having to be substituted off after only 10 minutes of Mexico’s opener against Nicaragua.

Mexico went into the game following Guadeloupe’s 2-1 win over Panama, and started with the Arsenal man playing on the left of a 3 man offensive line. The game began in a fairly open manner, with Mexico starting to show their dominance as Vela made several deft touches. However, disaster struck during the 5th minute when Carlos was clattered roughly from behind. He was treated on the sidelines and made an effort to re-emerge, but it was obvious that he’d taken too severe a knock to continue. In the 11th minute he was subbed off for Medina.

Vela was then taken to the Bay Area Hospital in an ambulance and his future in the tournament will depend on the results of x-rays and scans.

Javier Aguirre (Mexico’s Manager) said this of Vela’s injury:

“Let’s hope it’s just a scare. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious. I don’t think the damage was done on the initial hit, but because of the way he fell,”

Although Aguirre is hoping that Vela will be able to recover, he has already started looking at replacements, and it must seem likely that he’ll be on the plane back to London unless there’s a drastic recovery. If that is the case, then we’ll all be hoping that he recovers in time for training and pre-season.

After Vela was subbed off Mexico did manage to win 2-0 with a penalty late in the first half and a tap-in in the 86th minute. This victory puts Mexico top of their group.

Update – Here

Article By – Gianni Sonvico

Yesterday, the North American continent’s Premier International competition kicked off in the United States, with Carlos Vela hoping to make a strong impression on the tournament.

12 teams from North America and the Caribbean are fighting it out for the trophy, with Mexico billed as joint favourites with the USA. Indeed, it seems almost a given that Vela’s country will qualify to the knock-out stages, with their group consisting of Nicaragua, Panama and Guadeloupe. Their campaign kicks off against Nicaragua in a few hours and it looks very likely that Vela will spearhead their attacking play.

Mexico have been in very poor form in recent times, trailing Costa Rica, the US and Honduras in their bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Vela spoke about this ahead of the competition and was at a loss to explain why this was the case:

“I don’t know. Maybe the midfield, ourselves, I don’t know. It’s been something very rigorous, something very drastic. I hope that now things will go on normally.”

In Vela, Mexico have one of the best young players in World football and he’ll be looking to impress ahead of pre-season, the start of which he will miss. Whatever happens in the competition, you can be sure that Carlos will play an important role and Young Guns will be bringing you details of his performances as the Tournament progresses.

Article By – Gianni Sonvico

Young Guns is proud to announce the inaugural ‘Blogger Idol’ competition. Covering Arsenal’s Reserves & Youth is a tough but rewarding job, and in this special talent search we’re seeking the next blogging sensation to help provide coverage ahead of the new season.

If you’ve ever wanted to get into journalism and have your work published for people all over the world to read, then Blogger Idol really is for you. Young Guns is one of the biggest Arsenal related sites out there, and is the number one source for all things to do with Arsenal’s Reserves and Youth. We attract an average of 10,000 – 15,000 hits a day and our articles have been featured on football sites worldwide.

So what do you have to do to enter? well it’s simple. You first need to make sure you have at least an hour and half a day free to research and write articles and keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of Arsenal. There is no age limit on who can enter, and all you need to get started is to send us an e-mail telling us why you think you deserve to win Blogger Idol. Contact details are found below.

Your reasons will be judged by three people. Firstly myself, J.Sanderson, and I’ll be assisted by Kelvin Lye and Ahmed Khoory. Kelvin is a self confessed Arsenal addict and a good friend of the site. He has experience in the blogging field and brings an intelligent, clam and rational approach to the table. He was clearly excited about his new role.

“It’s my pleasure to be part of this Young Guns project and I will foresee that this project will bring a quality writer to further enhance Young Guns’ position as a reputable source of information for Arsenal Youth and Reserves.”

Ahmed Khoory is head moderator on one of the biggest non-English speaking Arsenal forums. Based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Ahmed will offer a no nonsense approach to judging and will be firm but fair in the search for the best blogger possible. He, like Kelvin, spoke about being made a judge of this project.

“It’s my honor to be an official judge for this exciting project that Young Guns has launched. There is a huge responsibility on me due to the success of Young Guns and I’m sure this project will only enhance its position and increase its achievements.”

For all interested parties, in under 200 words tell us why you want to win Blogger Idol. Send your reasons by midnight Saturday the 4th of July to the e-mail address below with the subject – Blogger Idol. Seven names will be chosen and you’ll be invited to write an article for the site. Then, a further three names will be chosen and you’ll be set a small project. A winner will then be picked and he or she will be our Blogger Idol.

They will be given the chance to write 10 articles for Young Guns, with the possibility of a full time slot should you impress. You will also receive a share of money earned in adverts over the time you write for us. So good luck, and get entering.

E-mail: – youngguns.wordpress@googlemail.com

Click Here To E-mail Us Now

Article By – J.Sanderson