The majority of Arsenal youngsters do not return to training until early next month, so, after a highly eventful season, the past few weeks have seen rather little occur of note in the youth department.
The club are close, however, to completing their second signing of the season below first-team level, with Barcelona defender Julio Pleguezuelo Selva reportedly having agreed to move to North London following months of speculation about his future, joining Aston Villa’s Dan Crowley in securing a move to the club. Capable of playing at centre-back or right-back, Pleguezuelo will certainly provide Arsenal with a much-needed option at U18 and, possibly, U21 level, following the departures of several defenders at the end of the season.
It is, of course, not the first time that Arsenal have raided Barcelona’s La Masia academy and exploited the loophole which enables them to sign players from Spanish clubs before they are eligible to sign a professional contract at the age of 17. Cesc Fabregas is the most notable example, whilst Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral have also joined in recent years, but the acquisition of midfielder Fran Merida didn’t have the desired result, with the midfielder, now 23, currently with Atletico Paranaense in Brazil having failed to establish himself during his time in Spain.
It is hoped that Pleguezuelo’s stay in North London will be more lengthy, and the youngster should receive plenty of game-time initially, especially given that Leander Siemann, a youngster signed from Hertha Berlin who operates in similar positions, failed to impress during his first season at the club.
Bellerin, however, may not be present to welcome Pleguezuelo at the club, with the right-back on course to represent Spain U19s at the UEFA European Championships for that age-group, which take place between July 20th and August 3rd, meaning that Bellerin, who is recovering from a slight injury at the moment, is likely to miss a large chunk of pre-season. That could include missing out on the Asia Tour, which would have been a fantastic opportunity for the 18 year old to establish his credentials especially with a question mark still hanging over regular right-back Bacary Sagna’s long-term future.
It was also revealed this week that, following Barnet’s decision to leave Underhill, Arsenal U21s will play the majority of their home fixtures at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park ground from next season. Incidentally, Boreham Wood is one of the sides that an Arsenal XI will take on as part of their pre-season programme, with trips to face Sutton United, Leyton Orient and Luton Town also scheduled.
Meanwhile, should the first-team win their qualifier and reach the Champions League group stages in August, then Arsenal’s youngsters will automatically be invited the participate in the inaugural UEFA Youth League, a competition established to rival the NextGen Series. It would only seem feasible to enter one of the competitions considering the amount of fixtures required for both, and it is believed that, at present, Arsenal are leaning towards the UEFA version.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Not higuain but whooo!
Borehamwood is one word not two separate words I love this blog
The place is but the team is not.
A short walk to watch the reserves then for me!
Suck it, Barca.
I dont know if it will be a big blow to them. Maybe a lot is made of this 16 and 17 years thing. I mean, if a youngster had the assurances that he could make it as a Barca 1st teamer, then he would surely stay in Spain that 1 year, wouldn’t he? The academy produces so many talents and Barca may ‘reserve’ the few who they think will prosper, while the rest are left hanging. So these people might see Arsenal as a stepping stone to the highest level as Arsenal give their youth more chances than Barca?
I get what you are saying but Im pretty sure they really didnt want to lose Fabregas and Pique.
BARCA DNA
I’ve got no issues with youth development but every time we snap up a Barcelona youngster (if they are Spanish) I just think of Cesc. Maybe we’re doing it to deny other clubs the talent and so even if we do sell the player later on, we are handsomly paid.
Perhaps we will rise above Barcelona in the future and ‘Barca DNA’ bullshit will be eradicated.
As long as it gets those Spanish idiots pissed, I say we keep doing it.
Is it pronounced Ple-guy-zoo-alo? This shits important.
Nearly put my boot through the TV last season every time Merson called Santi ‘Cazola’
actually i think its either ple-gooey-zooey-lo or ple-gwuh-zwee-lo but you’d have to ask Alan Shearer for the correct pronunciation
Pleh-gueh-thweh-lo. Yup.
Its cazorla or cathorla? Coz steve mcmohan keeps calling him Cathorla
Perfect chance to try out the “Barca DNA destroying radiation chamber” that Ray Parlour and Nelson Vivas have been co-developing.
The new site design for the news is not user friendly, in my opinion. I couldnt find this article on the main page, and had andrew allen tweet it to me. Hope blogs can rectify this error
Have you ever thought about writing an e-book or guest authoring on other
blogs? I have a blog based on the same information you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information.
I know my viewers would value your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.
the next pique
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Fix the site never updates more
Pleguezuelo?
Christ, if he ever makes it to the first team that’s going to give the song writers a bit of a headache.