Things were going so well for Arsenal U21s, with Steve Gatting’s side remaining unbeaten for their first six matches of the season, but they were provided with something of a reality check on Monday night as they suffered a 5-1 defeat to Sunderland.
It was not an abysmal Arsenal performance, but the young Gunners were unable to play the free-flowing football that they are renowned for and Sunderland took advantage of some slack defending. Arsenal also struggled to get their flair players- such as Thomas Eisfeld, Gedion Zelalem, Kristoffer Olsson and Jon Toral- on the ball for sustained periods, meaning that Chuba Akpom was often left isolated up front.
The youngsters will be looking to recover from that setback as soon as possible, and there are plenty of opportunities to do so over the coming weeks, with games scheduled in three competitions before Christmas. First up is tomorrow night’s FA Youth Cup 3rd round encounter with Torquay United at Meadow Park in a game that Arsenal will be seeking not only to win but also deliver a composed performance.
Dan Crowley, who has been impressive in the U18 Premier League recently since recovering from injury, could be involved at some stage, and the 16 year old may have a vital part to play given his ability to unlock defences with precise passes. Arsenal have not progressed beyond the Fifth Round of the competition since they last won it in 2008/09, but they can call upon some impressive talents this year, including Zelalem and Akpom.
There was more positive news on the loan front, meanwhile, with Hector Bellerin receiving much praise for his performance on his Watford debut last week. Operating as a right wing-back, Bellerin, who often played as a winger for Barcelona’s development teams, impressed going forward and also showed some good signs defensively, despite his temporary side suffering a 3-0 defeat to struggling Yeovil Town.
There is also something of a buzz at present concerning Joel Campbell, the Costa Rican international who is in his third loan spell since joining the club in 2011. After demonstrating glimpses of his potential during stints with Lorient and Real Betis, Campbell has really flourished this season in Greek football with Olympiacos, with the 21 year old scoring five times so far this season and contributing eight assists, four of which came in one game.
Possessing power and pace as well as skill, Campbell has a lot of commendable attributes, and, although he is far from the finished article, he will be hopeful that, should he continue this form, he will be provided with an opportunity to impress in the Arsenal first-team next season.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Exciting to hear that Joel Cambell is having a good loan stint down in Greece, would love to see him kick on and get a spot in the first team next year.
Agree. But if Wenger really buys a top striker in the winter it will be hard to get some playing time for him and Sanogo. Maybe we can do it this season with ”just” Giroud and Poldi, Sanogo, Bendtner and Walcott as back ups for that position and give Sanogo and Campbell a proper place in the squad next season. On one hand I’d really like to see a big name striker in the winter on the other hand, if I look at the progress the young players have made in the last 1-2 years I’d like to see either… Read more »
I really think Joel Campbell has great potential… but after seeing this video I don’t want this to ruin the image of Arsenal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YfA0Zn3vK4
I don´t know if you watched that game, and I admint it, that was a really bad acting lesson. But in that night USA focused on kicking the costarrican players legs more than play football. So that was (kind of) the way to counteract the dirty game of the americans…. i´m just saying …
Arsenal have a reputation, a culture. We play the purest football we can the way we feel the game should be played. He has grown up watching so many players play acting and diving (Rivaldo at the World Cup comes to mind), but he’s just a kid. If he is good enough, he will learn the Arsenal way! COYG
Honestly you have to be less romantic than that sometimes. Suarez is up there with the hottest property in Europe and he’s also one of the most detestable characters in football. Ultimately all we should be concerned about is his footballing ability since he’ll be the same person regardless of where he plays.
Plus, he’s young and we know Wenger doesn’t encourage that sort of thing. I’m sure he’ll prosper under the leadership of our experienced players, who typically go about it in the right way.
That’s the Americas for you. South American football in particular is absolutely disgraceful in the amount of play acting and gamesmanship that goes on. It’s the main reason why mainstream USA still looks at “soccer” as a bit of a joke.
Anyone watch The Wire? Doesn’t Joel Campbell look like Poot, from season 1?
http://i.lv3.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/episodes/1/5/the-pager-05-1024.jpg
Yeah anyway football. I have a good feeling about Campbell.
He looks a bit like poot. Its the cheeks. Lol. Back to football. I have watched him play a bit and I do not think he will make it at arsenal because of what we already have
Hopefully he’ll come good at Arsenal and change my mind, but after that atrocious dive he took against the US in the World Cup qualifiers, Campbell’s got a long way to go to make me cheer for him. Some of the most blatant cheating I’ve seen in a long, long time, and definitely not the behavior I want to see associated with the club.
Good news about Campbell.. There were rumours/stories when he joined Olympiacos that it was with a view to a permanent move, which surprised me. I could only assume it was down to attitude, as it looked like he had enough raw talent to take a closer look, especially as he’d just got a work permit, and it looked like the next obvious step was to let him spend some time with the squad before sending him out on loan to an English team?
no!! they have pay us for a full season on loan, thats why Betis (where he was playing very well too)refuse to take him back this year , we have ask for a small fee for a seasom loan.and thats why cant call him back too if massive injury happen to our front line
Campbell needs to prove that the dive against USA was an exception. He’s really talented but I’d hate to have an ashley young in the team.
to be fair, i’m pretty sure olympiakos win every league game they play 4 or 5-0. It’s nice he’s scoring but not really as impressive as it sounds.
I think the fact hes getting game time in a side thats winning games 4 or 5 every game shows he must be doing very well .good luck to the boy and hope he can do it for the Arsenal
Can’t y’all just be happy for the lad? sods!
I urge you to look at that video again. The USA player clearly steps on his toe. And while it was a complete accident, it’s obvious from Campbell’s reaction that he thought it was on purpose.
And if you think he rolled around too much, I invite you to have your foot stepped on by a studded boot….it fucking hurts, I’m speaking from experience here.
Don’t even bother mate, i and i’m sure many others have played rugby/football for years and short of having an anvil dropped on your toe you don’t roll around like that not unless you’re trying to draw attention to it. It’s theatrics pure and simple.
that was how Kelvin Mirallas was doing well in a league where they ‘win every league game they play 4-0 or 5-0’. But he hasn’t looked out of place since joining Everton.
Olympiacos has scored 41 goals in 13 games so far (in the league). It gives them an average of 3.2 goals per game. The fact that Campbell has been a part of 13 of these goals is impressive, even though it is the Greece league.
Arsenal is currently short of support upfront for Giroud! Recall Joel Campbell and gjve him the opportunity to be that support and cerain he will bring a different dimension in Arsenal’s attacks!
He has both pace and technical skills and an eye for goals!
sanogo suld be sent on loan next season,nd be replaced by campbell
I’ve seen Campbell play a few games for Costa Rica. He truly is quite an athlete; very fast, strong, and has some skill as well. On the other hand he is very left footed (his right side is under-developed) and the dive against the US left a bad taste in my mouth. I think he has the athleticism to be a similar type of player to Daniel Sturridge. At this point, I think he is a much better forward and back up to Giroud that Bendtner or anyone else we have. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes it as… Read more »
sorry, that last sentence sounds confusing. to clarify, of course he is not as good as giroud, but I believe he is better than Bendtner