The first-team’s pre-season tour of Asia certainly concluded in a positive fashion as far as the club’s youngsters are concerned, with striker Chuba Akpom finding the net four times in as many games, Gedion Zelalem enhancing his already burgeoning reputation and the likes of Kristoffer Olsson and Chuks Aneke gaining valuable experience of what life is like with the first-team squad.
For some of those involved, however, it was a case of going back to reality last night as an Arsenal XI continued their pre-season preparations with what was, at times, an enthralling 4-4 draw away to League One side Leyton Orient. Given that they were facing a senior side, a draw can be viewed as a commendable result for Steve Gatting’s team, although some of the defending from the young Gunners left a lot to be desired, particularly during the first-half when they were punished by the same corner routine twice in quick succession.
Arsenal could call upon Wellington Silva, however, to restore parity, with the Brazilian winger finding the net twice to complement an impressive all-round performance. The 20 year old has traipsed around clubs in the Spanish second division in recent years having been unable to earn a work permit that would enable him to play in England, but it would certainly be a shame to see his, still undoubtedly raw talent go to waste without ever being provided with an opportunity to play in the first-team at Arsenal.
At present that appears an unlikely proposition, with Ryo Miyaichi ahead of him and already installed as part of the first-team squad, but, last night, Wellington looked as if he had no worries at all as he frequently tricked his way past experienced defenders whilst linking up well with his team-mates.
Orient scored again to make it 3-2, and increased their advantage further still in the second-half, but Arsenal were rewarded for their perseverance and eventually managed to salvage a draw. First Akpom, continuing his great goalscoring run which started around this time last year and has barely ceased since, struck a well placed effort into the back of the net to reduce the deficit to one goal, then centre-back Daniel Boateng, perhaps the most unlikely candidate for a dramatic late equaliser, belied convention to pounce upon a defensive error and finish well late on.
There was no run-out on this occasion for Dan Crowley, the talented midfielder signed from Aston Villa who does not turn 16 until August, but he is instead expected to feature during the U21s final friendly away to Luton Town on Saturday before the commencement of the new U21 Premier League season against Manchester United at Boreham Wood in two weeks’ time.
So if these guys are scoring. Bring em up! All the noise (or lack of it) in the transfer saga suggests we won’t be seeing anybody new.
……you can’t get rid of 6-7 players not replace them and expect to do better next season. Yes the players a growing, but the other teams aren’t remaining static!
i know this won’t go down well with most of the gooners, but enough with the transfer worries !! i mean, its a news artcle about the progress of the club’s youth and in the comment sectionwe are still talking about transfers (or lack of ’em)…….. we support arsenal, then leave the top men of the club to run the club, they can certainly run the club better than us, if not better than their correspoinding man in other clubs, and then we can judge, whether they did a good enough job come 17th of august!! i am not even… Read more »
Great post from a real supporter…..
i don’t understand if harsh got 15 dislikes, then how come andy got none??
“……you can’t get rid of 6-7 players not replace them and expect to do better next season. Yes the players a growing, but the other teams aren’t remaining static!”
Stop the press! Someone call Wenger, quick! I don’t think he’s aware of this.
yeah, I like it
They’ll all be sold with two league cup appearances to their name. Joke club.
Explain why it’s a joke that most of the youngsters at Arsenal don’t make the first team, just like most of the youngsters at every club.
If we are a joke club, football as we know it is fcuked. The other 88 clubs below us in the pyramid must be sitcom clubs. I’d like to know what teams in world football you wouldn’t consider a joke club. Pray, tell.
I say..our summer transfer policy is a joke, the fact the club had a “whisper” that £40m+ would trigger Suarez release clause is a joke. the fact we are lied to by the people who make money from us, it’s a joke we pay the highest ticket prices but with two weeks til the new season the only new player we have is an untried 20year old who nearly retired last year through injury and our young players always wind up at fuckin Crewe when they hit 22 years old….joke club.
Then go find a non-joke club to support. Because you certainly aren’t supporting this one.
Arseblood is just mad because we having won anything since he started supporting us.
If you want instant success at any cost go support Chelsea
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Arsenal dream. I have a dream that one day when I click on the Favourites icon for Arseblog @ 09:01 and read a news story completely unrelated to anything involving the word “transfer” that the comments section will also not include anything to do with said word and remain on topic. Especially when the comment is so negative that it makes me want to throw my knock off blue… Read more »
No need for signings, we already have a strong 1st team squad, plus the youngsters who are coming up, why can’t we challenge for the league, I really hope AW signs nobody and prove that this squad is ready to claim any trophy
And because they don’t sign anybody, they don’t need the transfer fund and refund £500 to season tickets holders… Good plan.
Much as though I’d like to be in a position where we have ‘no need for signings’. this isn’t it. We really do need to bring players in. (a) Because we’ve lost the likes of Mannone, Arshavin, and Coquelin and need to replace them. (b) Because we need to realistically compete for titles and trophies and not just be in the mix. (c) Because the fans have put up with rather a lot these past few years. We’ve been loyal. We’ve been there for AFC. And now with our finances able to support a squad that’s not one injury short… Read more »
I must say I agree, wouldn’t it be wonderful to win something (BPL) without going moneybags?
It would prove a point and generate zillions of news.
Wellington, Bernard, you gotta love Brazilian names eh
I hear Arsenal are about to sign another Brazilian called Trevor.
I think my favourite Brazilian name has to be… Fred.
Spared no expense on effort creating that name.
I just imagine him at the Office of Braziliannicknamesonbackofjerseys and all his mates were taking the ones he wanted like Zizinho and Denlinho and Ronaladinho
Talk about a trendsetter! Good for you Fred
Will highlights be made available of this game? Interested to see just how good Wellington was.
Why is Borehamwood always split into two words?
Town is called Borehamwood, football team of town is called Boreham Wood F.C.
I both lived there and played for their juniors and still have no idea why thee difference exists.
He looks like he could be Obama’s lovechild
Haha I also live there and can never understand it?!
Heh, yeah Ryan, at my first training session as a nine year old Aussie oik fresh off the plane, I asked “why d’yer spell yer own town wrong?” I got told that it just was, and to shut up and do some shuttles….
Anyone has a link to the goals or highlight of the Arsenal XI vs Leyton Orient?
I can’t find it anywhere.
@Arseblog…Joke no.1.. Young players on loan to get work permits.
Joke no.2 .. When we do see quality like Eisfeld, Wenger doesn’t pick them
Joke no. 3.. These kids are paid fortunes in case they come good
Joke no. 4.. Liam Brady felt Wenger doesn’t give them a chance….so quit
Joke no. 5 .. A bloke walks up to a Rabii, and asks, how much do you charge for circumcision? The Rabii replies “it’s free, but I like to
keep the tips”
1. They have to go on loan, no choice
2. Eisfeld isn’t that good, I don’t see him making it
3. They’re not really paid that much
4. So Wenger should play a worse team just to make a youth coach happy?
5. Ha
whoa there, eisfeld looks plenty good, just needs a little bit of physical development before he’s thrown into heavy premier league games
but him, chuba and zelalem look like they’ll be forcing their way into the 1st team in a year or 2
1: Young non-EU player need to earn work permit/EU passport by playing and living in EU and they need the experience so there’s no other way. 2: Eisfeld is not ready if he is not picked. Takes more than flashes of promise to be first team. Even many constant performers in reserves have struggled with step up to first team. 3: I’m sure they are not paid a lot but at the same time, if the club does not pay them a good wage, they would have joined other clubs. 4: Brady is still there, and is staying till May… Read more »
Good result I think… Gooners don’t appreciate sh!t. What the f??? is an u21 game got to do with SENIOR team transfers? There’s still some good with arsenal. This is it
What’s happened to Jack Jebb?
I want to see wellington silva play for arsenal his mind has only been on playing for afc since he signed and has been frustrated that he can’t make his dream come true because of work permit issues. Personally I believe he will be one of the best players in the world one day. Can anyone tell me if he will get his permit this year ?
Really fun game, a bit bonkers. The sort the first team have specialised in in recent years! I think the sun caused Iliev a problem for Orient’s first two goals, but it was a pretty simple corner both times. Having gutted our reserve team this summer, the likes of Akpom and Aneke gave it a bit more strength. It was a good result given the standard of the opposition and the fact that Orient begin their season on Saturday, so are a bit further along in terms of preparation. I think Arsenal only made two substitutions so a good work… Read more »
“At present that appears an unlikely proposition, with Ryo Miyaichi ahead of him and already installed as part of the first-team squad….”
Has he finally got his visa??????!
Wellington gotta beef up if he wants t play in the premier league.
i like him.
Beef wellington, I got it!
Yeah, beef up or get the boot.
Eisfield,Bellerin,Zelalem,Akpom are very good at whatever they do, but getting into the Arsenal team will be very difficult for them. I expect them to be just as squad players but not world class or game changer.
Anyway COYG – FOYS
If you are an exceptional young player you will make a break-through early at your club. Everyone else will have to bide their time, do the loan thing and not waste the opportunity when it is presented.
Players will normally reach their peak at 27/28, some earlier, some later. Those that don’t work hard enough or aren’t good enough will drop down leagues. This is football and it will always be the case.
Good news about Wellington. I’d love a shirt with Wellington on the back in a couple of years.
Rooney hit his peak at 19!!!
his widow’s peak, you mean? would explain the hair transplant
Since it was Leyton Orient senior team, I’d suggest checking their website(if they have one) for possible highlights.
Mmm, Wellington Pie… *drools*
We do produce players.. plenty that have gone on to become decent players. But the fact is, we are always pushed into making decisions too quick on the youth as the pressure to keep up with the rest of the league and the purchasing glory culture. As a youth i was always just pleased to sign a player, whether that was Ian Wright, Anders Limpar or Glenn Helder. I didnt care as the price was not the ruling factor on quality. But now it seems that too please the plastic people we must spend spend spend… Give me 5 relative… Read more »
well said mate, well said
Getting high with with homegrown weed is almost as good as winning the league with homegrown talent
This is my point exactly. Buying some ready made prima donnas and winning always feels insincere…
Pedro Botelho, Vela, Wellington, Joel Campbell, Samuel Galindo. Sometimes you have to take a swing and see if you hit it. We’ve been missing on these purchases but Gelalem, Gnabry etc.. are going to be good ones.
*Zelalem
Why is there more thumbs downs than thumbs ups? Is it that we are not thinking straight? Sorry, only Wenger can answer to that… Lol.
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We were supposed to sign higuain a month ago, npw were left seeing spurs sign 3 players already. What a joke club and a joke manager.
You’re a joke.
Jeorge, have you seen Crowley play? How would you rate him compared to Zelalem? Are they similar players?
Great column as always, keep it up.
Ah, Mr Bird, your articles are always a pleasure to read.