Afobe Poised To Miss Pre-Season Chance

Benik Afobe is poised to miss the business end of Arsenal’s pre-season, after being selected for the England Under 20 squad for next months Under 20 World Cup in Colombia.

Afobe is still expected to join Arsène Wenger’s first-team when training gets underway on Monday, but he won’t have the opportunity to impress in a game situation, as England have told him to be ready for their July 14th meet up.

The 18-year-old was expected to be offered the opportunity to earn a place in Wenger’s squad for the next campaign, after impressing during a loan spell with League One Huddersfield Town last season. However, his inclusion means he’ll only have just over a week of training to leave an impression.

One option the Frenchman does have, is asking the FA to re-consider their stance on Benik, just like he did with Jack Wilshere and the Under 21 European Championships. This seems unlikely, so a second loan spell away from the club looks inevitable, with Millwall already making inquires over his services.

Francis Coquelin, Gilles Sunu and Ignasi Miquel are all in the same boat, as they’ll be featuring for France and Spain respectively.

Elsewhere, Arsenal have moved pre-season training forward, all first-team and Reserve players will now report for duty on Monday, not Wednesday, as original planned.

Wenger To Run The Rule Over Youngsters

Arsène Wenger will run the rule over last years loanees as well as a selection of promising Reserve team players when pre-season kicks off a week on Wednesday.

Neil Banfield’s first-team hopefuls will return to London Colney at the same time as the first-team, on July 6th, instead of earlier, as with previous years, with the rest starting medical tests on the 4th. Wenger is expected to concentrate his early efforts on those who made significant strides on loan last season, with a view to including them in his re-shuffled squad.

Kyle Bartley is the most prominent candidate to make the step up, with Arsène already holding off interest from Rangers until he’s taken a closer look at the 20-year-old. Carlos Vela and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas are two players with a lot prove, or they could both find themselves spending next season at pastures new.

French duo Francis Coquelin and Gilles Sunu, as well as defender Ignasi Miquel, won’t be involved, as they’re preparing for the Under 20 World Cup. Coquelin’s omission will present opportunities to Craig Eastmond and Emmanuel Frimpong, both of whom will hope to become Alexandre Song’s deputy.

Wellington Silva, Ryo Miyaichi and Samuel Galindo are all due back, but it’s not yet clear yet if they’ll start training on July 7th, or will join up later, due to visa issues.

Wellington To Get Pre-Season Chance

Arsène Wenger is expected to run the rule over Wellington Silva in pre-season, before deciding on the 18-year-old’s short-term future.

Silva is currently holidaying in his native Brazil, but has been told to report to London Colney for pre-season training next month. A number of European clubs, including La Liga outfit Levante, have already been in touch over a loan spell, but the club want to take a closer look at the forward.

Wellington is expected to move between the first-team and Neil Banfield’s Reserves when he returns to training, but its not yet clear whether he will actually play any games. How well he performs will help decide on what happens next, with Arsenal still having a spare application for a work permit for next season.

The most likely scenario is that Silva will go on loan again next term, but Spain may not be the most obvious destination. The Belgian media report Anderlecht have expressed an interest while unofficial link club Feyenoord may also be an option, if they decide against paying a loan fee for Ryo Miyaichi.

Silva will have extra holiday time after not being selected for the Brazil Under 20 side for the Under 20 World Cup.

Arsenal Still On The Trail Of Alvarez

Arsenal remain in the hunt for Vélez Sársfield midfielder Ricardo Álvarez, but six other European clubs have also shown an interest in the Argentine play-maker.

South American executive Richard Law is said to have travelled to Argentina last month for talks over transfer, but the negotiations were quickly over, as Law was not willing to match the €12 million Euro’s president Fernando Raffaini demanded. However, scouting of the player has continued, and the Gunners are plotting their next move.

Reliable Argentine website Olé reports that Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma, Málaga, Sporting and a German club have all spoken to Vélez about Ricardo’s availability. A number of offers are on the table for the player, but Olé says Arsenal have the most ‘authentic’ interest.

Brazil based scout Sandro Orlandelli picked up on the left footed maestro three years ago, when he showed positive signs as a 20-year-old, and various scouts have since followed his progress.

It remains to be seen whether Arsenal would match Vélez’s asking price, especially as Álvarez’s would not be first choice, but more an impact substitute.

The transfer is expected to rumble on for a few more weeks yet.

Feyenoord Admit Doubts Over Miyaichi Loan

Feyenoord have revealed their doubts over re-signing Ryo Miyaichi on loan, after Arsenal cleared the way for the Japanese winger to return to De Kuip next season.

Miyaichi will report for pre-season training with Arsenal next month, but Arsène Wenger’s initial plan to apply for a work permit appears doomed, after he was dropped from the Japan Under 22 side. A flood of offers have since arrived for Ryo, but Head Scout, Steve Rowley, has told the club a return to Feyenoord would be best.

Technical Director, Martin van Geel, confirmed an offer had gone in at the end of last season, and despite previously admitting his keenness to secure the 18-year-old’s services, van Geel now has doubts over the transfer.

“With Sekou Cissé and Jerson Cabral, we have two players who play in the same position as Ryo” he explained to Voetbal International. “We can’t turn a blind eye to this. We will have to analyse the situation and decide whether it makes sense to loan Ryo again”.

“Ryo is definitely worth it. The kid played amazingly well for us, but we need to look out for our own players”.

Feyenoord’s General Director, Eric Gudde, also confirmed the news Young Guns published last season, that Arsenal are now asking for a loan fee for Ryo. This initially put them off, but now Gudde says he is happy to pay it and make an investment in the player.

Whether Van Geel truly believes his statement or he is trying to force Arsenal into waving any fee, it remains to be seen, but Miyaichi’s short-term future still has a few twists and turns to come.

Arsenal Set To Benefit From EPP Plans

The way English clubs scout, recruit and develop young players is set to change, after Premier League chairman agreed on the terms for a Elite Performance Plan.

Ivan Gazidis was present at the meeting at the end of the season, in which chairmen discussed ways to revamp the current rulings on youngsters. The key changes come around the signing and development of players, with the ’90 minute rule’ set to be scrapped and coaching times increased.

The current setup means clubs can only coach players aged between 10 and 18 for a maximum of 2000 hours, but the new proposals allow up to 10,000 hours. Elsewhere, the rule on players only being signed to academies if they live within 90 minutes of the training centre will be removed, but there will be further discussions on greater compensation on the transfer of youngsters, especially with regards to lower league clubs.

The changes have been mooted for a number of years, with Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson two of the key pioneers of the EPP.

The rulings will come into action from the start of the 2012-2013 season, and the hope is that they will match up with those of Spanish clubs, allowing English sides the option to add more continental coaching methods to their development plans.

Arsenal Duo Poised For World Cup Duty

The FIFA Under 17 World Cup gets underway in Mexico this evening, and two of Arsenal’s lesser known youngsters will be taking part.

Dutch midfielder Kyle Ebecilio will be a key force in the Holland side, looking to follow up on their Under 17 European Championship title, won last month. The 17-year-old played a starring role there, and will be will be looking to have a similar influence in the tournaments opening game against Congo tonight.

English clubs will provide a range of players, across a number of different countries. Liverpool’s Tom King and West Ham’s Dylan Tombides will play for Australia, Chelsea’s new £8 million forward Lucas Piazón will turn out for Brazil, while the MK Dons’ Jevani Brown is part of the Jamaica setup.

The England team kick off their tournament tomorrow, against Rwanda. Arsenal will be providing one of the key players in the game, but despite being born in London, he won’t represent England. Exciting winger Alfred Mugabo, who only declared his desire to play for Rwanda a month or so ago, is set to be one of the Wasps key players.

Mugabo is a tall and skillful winger, who can play on either flank, or up front. He’s already shown bags of potential in a number of Rwanda’s warm up games, despite being the youngest in their squad.

The majority of the fixtures will be shown live on Eurosport.

Frimpong Unsure Of Arsenal Future

Emmanuel Frimpong admits his future at Arsenal ‘won’t look good’ if he isn’t part of Arsenal’s first-team squad this summer. The Ghanian also confirmed interest from both Cardiff City and Charlton Athletic over a loan move.

Frimpong will return to pre-season training next month, almost a year after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage which forced him to miss the majority of the campaign. However, after a handful of matches with the Reserves and an intensive summer gym schedule, the 19-year-old is approaching peak fitness.

However, it’s not yet clear whether Arsène Wenger will include Emmanuel in his squad during the summer, and the powerful midfielder is already thinking about options elsewhere.

“It was a difficult season for me with the injury and the comeback, but I think I will need to look elsewhere if the current situation continues. There have been talks about Cardiff and Charlton Athletic, but I know I can be a regular for Arsenal if I stay clear of injury.”

“If Mr Wenger comes to me this pre-season and says ‘Emmanuel I want to give you another opportunity’ then I have to show him I can do what I did this season, but if he doesn’t, then obviously my time at Arsenal doesn’t look good.”

His push for inclusion is aided by Francis Coquelin’s international commitments, which will see him miss pre-season due to the Under 20 World Cup.

It remains to be seen whether Frimpong will get another first-team chance, but having missed almost a year out of the game, a loan spell in the Championship looks a solid option.

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