Loanee Denis Suarez has been included in Arsenal’s 24-man squad for the knockout stages of the Europa League, however, the inclusion of the Spaniard has led to Dinos Mavropanos missing out.
How has that happened? On his own blog, our resident Arsenal Youth expert, Jeorge Bird, explains:
“Uefa rules state that teams should name eight homegrown senior players in their squad, but the departure of Emiliano Martinez to Reading on loan means that Arsenal only named seven. Therefore, they had to name a reduced senior squad list of 24 players.”
Having only been at the club for a year, Mavropanos, 21, doesn’t count as homegrown despite his age. To clarify, UEFA defines a homegrown player as follows:
“UEFA defines locally-trained or ‘homegrown’ players as those who, regardless of their nationality, have been trained by their club or by another club in the same national association for at least three years between the age of 15 and 21. Up to half of the locally-trained players must be from the club itself, with the others being either from the club itself or from other clubs in the same association.”
UEFA stress that clubs don’t have to put homegrown players on the field or on the team sheet, which is probably just as well because of the seven in the current squad; three are out for the season (Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck), two are reserves (Carl Jenkinson and Deyan Iliev), one is leaving (Aaron Ramsey) and the other is Alex Iwobi.
Players under-21 at the start of the season sit on the B-list, which is why Ainsley Maitland-Niles is considered on a par with a host of academy kids.
It would appear that you can’t move between the B and A-lists during a season, hence why Ainsley couldn’t be listed as an eighth homegrown player. At least, we guessing that’s the case.
All in all, sad times for Dinos, who’ll instead have to focus on getting his minutes in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s full Europa League squad
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Bernd Leno, Deyan Iliev, Arthur Okonkwo*
Defenders: Hector Bellerin, Sokratis, Laurent Koscielny, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Rob Holding, Nacho Monreal, Skhodran Mustafi, Carl Jenkinson, Sead Kolasinac, Daniel Ballard*, Tolaji Bola*, Zech Medley*, Joseph Olowu*, Tobi Omole*, Jordi Osei-Tutu*, Julio Pleguezuelo*, Dominic Thompson*
Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles*, Alex Iwobi, Denis Suarez, Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka, Robbie Burton*, Charlie Gilmour*, Ben Sheaf*, Nathan Tormey*, Gedion Zelalem*, Harry Clarke*, Trae Coyle*, Joe Willock*
Strikers: Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Danny Welbeck, Eddie Nketiah*, Emile Smith Rowe*, Xavier Amaechi*, Tyreece John-Jules*, Bukayo Saka*
* B List
We have a good enough team to make a real push for the EL trophy.
Napoli and Inter are the only two clubs I think may give us a fight. There might be others though.
Chelsea are the team I would most want to avoid. Sevilla would be difficult if we’re away in the second leg.
if we end up 5th or 6th but win the el, i’d have that over 4th. which is probably obvious, but still. win the el and emery’s first season will not have been that bad
But chelsea can’t play Higuain since he playes for milan right?
Yes he can. They replaced Fabregas and Morata with Higuaín and Drinkwater for their squad list.
You mean Auba would have played last year if we had shipped Per Mertsacker to Hannover ?
Nah they changed it this season after Wenger complained about Aubameyang not being able to play for Arsenal in the Europa League last year, because he featured in a matchday squad for Dortmund in the Champions League but he never actually played any minutes.
With the amount of chances we created at the Emirates against Madrid, we would have scored 3 that night if we had Aubameyang playing.
http://global.espn.com/football/blog/the-toe-poke/65/post/3767461/jose-mourinhos-year-goes-from-bad-to-worse-as-fall-at-russian-hockey-game-goes-viral
This will brighten your day
ah, thats a shame.
Hahahaha oh indeed!!!
I will raise you this.
https://twitter.com/Torren___/status/1038777516650049536
From the little I’ve seen of him Mavro already looks twice the player of Mustafi. Tall, calm and composed – everything our friend Shkodran isn’t.
If Mavro has a catastrophic game, you will say why an experienced player like Mustafi was on the bench?
No I won’t, I will say give him time. CB is the hardest position to learn on the job but it’s clear as day he has the physical attributes to make it in the PL.
The thing is though myrtle, if you had seen very little of Mustafi and if the little was Mustafi playing well (it has happened I think??) then you may think differently. 🙂
In all the games I’ve seen of the young greek he looks far more composed and assured than Musti. His problems are mainly mental but CB physicality is still somehow underrated. Van Dijk, Kompany, Vidic, Campbell, nearly all of the great PL centre backs have been over 6ft. Mustafi does well in the circumstances but I’m sorry, he is a glorified right back. I for one cannot wait to see Dinos on the pitch, have you actually seen him? A proper 6ft3.5 unit that won’t get pushed around.
Yeah, I was kinda having a joke to put the “I think it has happened before” line in. 🙂
I can’t wait for him and Papa give it large in the middle of defence.
Well, there goes the idea that he was the reason we haven’t brought in a defender und January. Let’s hope Sokratis gets fit quickly.
We haven’t brought a defender because between Mustafi, Sokratis and Koscielny there are no major injuries. Worst case we can rely on Monreal, Mavropanos, Jenkinson or Lichsteiner. Numbers wise we are fine. The real problem IMO is the lack of top quality cover in CM. It takes 2 more Torreira’s to gives us balance for a full season. What we need to do is replace guys like El Neny and Ramsey with guys who are comfortable in possession like Torreira and Guendouzi. Ramsey is a luxury false 9 and i hope that is why we are letting him go and… Read more »
Hmmm, rely on Lichtsteiner! I’d have put Mavro in in his place despite lack of experience.
Seems crazy that players can’t move up from B list if UEFA looking to give clubs incentive to use homegrown players.
The pace of the Premier League is too much for Leitchsteiner but he’s a fine and experienced asset to use in the Europa League against opposition the quality of Borisov. People forget he was signed as a second choice right back to play in the cup games; we’ve just been incredibly unlucky with Bellerin’s injuries this season.
lichtsteiner is spelt wrong more often than mkhi or szczesny ever were
Finally someone speaking some sense about the Licht situation. It’s incredible how the narrative was reframed as if he was bought with the expectation he would be able to excel in games such as ManCity and Liverpool (where he plays out of position) next to the likes of Mustafi.
So we play him v Vorskla, Qarabag, Brentford and Blackpool to some success but what about games v Burnley, Cardiff, Huddersfield, Brighton, Southampton, Sporting, Palace (if I’m not allowed to consider performances v good teams like Man C or Liverpool). Many of those he was subbed off because he was so effective.
My point was Mavro is a better choice for the tail end of the season for him to gain experience and with harder Euro games to come than BATE. Experience is only useful if it is used in full.
Mav hasn’t played in a proper competitive game all season other than 20 mins at Man City, a 70 min appearance for the U23s and a 45 min appearance yesterday that was stalled by fog!
If Mav can’t play in Europe then surely he will get games in the PL? That’s the conclusion I’ve reached. Surely that is better for his development and for the club if he proves to be the gem we all hope he is.
But must we signed a player in the mould of a back up y not rather sign someone who will fight for a place n bring competition for a spot rather surrendering everything in the name of a backup
Elneny is so similar to Guendouzi…
So then we can rest Guendouzi for the Premier League and play Elneny against Borisov.
We shouldn’t rest anyone. Play the main players, and if we finish the first leg with a comfortable result. Then maybe, we can rest some key players.
The only similarity is the hair!
Why didn’t he replace Mustafi? Joking aside he’s an awful defender
mustaft when unfit is worth more to the team than when fit
That’s just downright stupid in my opinion.
We’ve got enough attackers in the squad and we’ve had major defensive injuries. Someone else should’ve sat out.
I thought the same, but the problem is, looking at the squad, there’s no-one really to take out that’s not in theory v useful and we do have quite a few CDs in the squad (elneny is probably the closest to someone you could drop). Who would you drop to fit in Mav?
Welbeck and Bellerin
as written in the article, Welbeck and Bellerin are used to fill the home grown quota and since we apparently can’t move players from B list to A list, we are stuck…
Lichtsteiner! (sorry for repetition).
elneny
Gotta say I don’t understand why Holding,Bellerin or Welbeck are not dropped… Unless medical team have said that they may be available before the end of the season.
Because they allow us to fill our homegrown player quota, otherwise our squad wouldn’t be eligible for the competition
Understood, thanks
I have a gut instinct that this guy could be very good if he is introduced gradually and not thrown in the deep end. In an ideal world next season, he will be paired up with a repaired and rejuvenated Rob Holding with Bellerin back from his injury soon after we may be somewhere near building a back 4 full of youthful potential and enterprise.
We can but dream, but it would alleviate a lot of our problems and resolve the ageing squad issue we currently have.
It’s further evidence of Sven’s scouting talent that his young signings have already impressed enough in 6 months to have the future of the club firmly rested upon them.
I count 3 A-list goalkeepers, but only 3 A-list centre halves?
Iliev counts as homegrown apparently
Smith-Rowe has been included?
Niles is still only 21
Beggars belief. Quite clearly Emery doesn’t rate Mavropanos as the Europa League would have been ideal for him to get some playing experience.
It’s not about Emery rating him; it’s just a consequence of the rules. Koscielny, Mustafi, Sokratis, and Monreal can all play centre back and are ahead of him in the pecking order anyway.
I have been to the future, they are all injured! 🙂
I think they are all injured in the present
Did you even read the article?
That’s asking a bit much
I understand all the homegrown stuff. You are telling me that you’d rather have Elneny than Mavropanos in the squad? Lichtsteiner over Mavropanos? I’d rather try Mavropanos at DM or at RB if need be, rather than play those two that we’ll get rid of in the summer anyway.
I insist its a terrible decision. You make room for a player like Mavropanos.
Will someone, anyone, explain to me what the bloody hell is happening to our club. Our new manager is beginning to really annoy me with his stupid selections. How on this planet can Mustafi and Monreal get in the side, let alone squad, in front of Mavropanos. Has themanager even watched the boy..he is perfect for our enormous gap in defense. So Emery would rather play two players who A) are not great defenders and B) are past their best anyway. Yes its a sickener to lose Holding, Sokratis and Belerin but for AFC thats par for the course every… Read more »
Hello daily mail comments section.
i enjoyed reading this but i am not convinced about Mislintat was the guru we wanted. i think he was good at self promotion. lots of other clubs have head scouts who have unearthed gems from across the globe and sold them on for massive profit but we don’t know their names. Mislintat was put forward as some sort of transfer whisperer , but i think we can still operate in the same way with out him, if we can do some sensible recruiting for his replacement , we can still have a good scouting network to dig into.
Did Mislantat recruit Lichtsteiner? I keep asking this question and nobody answers it. He has unearthed some gems but he’s also brought into the club players who are edging towards the twilight of their careers. I actually think most of us could be scouts for the club as we know what the club needs. Give me his salary and I’ll do it in between all the other things I have to do.
Oh, for fu@ks sake. Really, calm down.
I recommend a viewing of Jame’s on the whistle this week.
You either didn’t read what Jorge said or you chose to ignore it. If you are annoyed with the manager that’s one thing I guess but your annoyance should be about things he can do something about. Someone on the clerical side seems to have made a cock-up by the look of it…that’s nothing to do with Emery!
You either didn’t read what Jorge said or you chose to ignore it. If you are annoyed with the manager that’s one thing I guess but your annoyance should be about things he can do something about. Someone on the clerical side seems to have made a mistake by the look of it…that’s nothing to do with Emery!
I was really enjoying your articulate post thinking “wow is this the new “Pete”? but stopped reading at “how can Monreal get in the side”
What a frustrating decision. This is a guy who needs more game time, and two legs against BATE Borisov would have been perfect. He won’t play much in the PL anyway, so we’re left with seeing too much of the walking disaster that is Mustafi.
One shocking decision after another. I’m losing hope.
Just take out lichsteiner
His contract probably included Europa appearances.
As some sort of assassination thing Ross? Asking for a hitman friend…:-)
Isn’t it about time that somebody challenged these pathetic rules about so-called home grown players? At the end of the day we are a business, as much as I hate to say it. What right does UEFA have to tell us which of our employees we are allowed to play in their competitions? Some of these players are on very expensive contracts and yet they are barred from taking part in a major competition – one that may make us tens of millions of pounds if we manage to win it. As long as a player is formally registered with… Read more »
I totally agree with you Fats. I would also add that these rules actually seem to be counterproductive. They are intended to ensure clubs develop young local talent, but the reality is that big clubs hold onto good young talent to satisfy the rules with little intention of playing them. To do this they give them bigger contracts than they could expect lower down the table. The result being that the player’s development stalls and they are too well paid to get off their arse and force a move. It is why i applaud players who leave big clubs early… Read more »
Andy Cole yes, David Bentley not so much
seems inaccurate : Bellerin ,Holding and Wellbeck out for season list does not make sense and smith rowe is out on loan
After Brexit this situation will snowball when the FA can force teams to name a certain number of English players in their match day squad. For this reason we can be thankful we have a few local lads coming through.
Why all the love for Mav? He played one decent game last season then showed his inexperience with a silly red card.
I’m sure he has potential but it’s unlikely he was going to play anyway
welcome to the internet : a glorious world of extremes and conclusion jumping. enjoy and try not to cry too much at the inhumanity.
For many in the fanbase, the trend is that any player who is not playing, automatically gets better and better and the becomes the solution for all the problems.
Red-sky, I made similar comment on another post and got serious down votes – expect similar.
As did i
Poor decision imo, this could come back to bite us big time.
Elneny hardly ever plays, we have players who can do that job like AMN, but we’re vulnerable in the centre of our defence…
Crackpot decision.
It would appear that you can’t move between the B and A-lists during a season, hence why Ainsley couldn’t be listed as an eighth homegrown player. At least, we guessing that’s the case.
I’m not sure, but why would you bother? Ainsley can play the same either way, makes no difference.
If he joins the A list he would count as a homegrown A list player, and thus give us back that extra place in the squad we lost when Martinez went on loan. This would then ensure a place for Mavro
If you could he would fulfill our requirements for homegrown A players, because he can’t be moved we aren’t able to register more non homegrown players
If you move AMN to the A list of home-grown players, it still doesn’t free up a slot for Mavropanos, Suarez or any other player.
A UEFA squad is basically 8 home grown players, 17 non, and as many u21s (who have been at the club for at least two years since their 15th birthday) as you want. If we take out our three injured A list homegrown players (Bellerin, Holding & Welbeck) that wouldn’t affect the 17 non-home grown players place in the squad.
Would it be too harsh on Mustafi for Unai to put Gunnersaurs in ahead of him going forward??
Gunnersaurs is world class compared to that comedy relief disguised as a professional footballer
He’s injured. Ruptured a ligament in his tarsus.
Why are Bellerin and Holding named? They’re out for the season! Also, in the clamour to sign a centre back why didn’t we just recall Chambers?
We tried to recall Chambers but the penalty cost was too much as he had played so many games.
Yet we were prepared to pay €5m to loan Perisic. How much was this penalty cost, exactly?!?
No we didn’t try to recall Chambers, and why would we? He’s getting 90 minutes for a team who defend for 80 minutes per game, and we already have 6 players who can play centre back and 3 players who can play right back.
Ornstein says we did Richie
Bellerin and Holding are named to make up the quota for home grown players.
Why are we not playing Ozil, either play him or sell him. If 5 minutes of brilliance gets us a goal then Play Ozil and get over the ego. Ozil situation is hurting us more than anything else.
That’s the thing; if Ozil and Ramsey don’t start in the league, they’ll start in Europe.
B-list: does that mean buggered, or borrowed? 😉
Thank you so much for doing a good job on explaining the home-grown system Arseblog News!
AMN is defo an A lister. Good to see new boy Dennis isn’t cup tied. We will need the length and breath of this squad. Mavropanos in any case is relatively unproven but we could well do with good cover regardless. We are so thin in assets in particular areas. Naturally some people deem to imagine certain players worse than they truly are. Point in case Mustafi. When he merely touches a player, they are up in arms like it is the worst infraction in the world. Old Adrian Clarke certainly didn’t think it was a big deal nor ref… Read more »