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Arsenal pullout of the reserve league


Francis Coquelin

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Arsenal have made the bold decision to pull out of the FA Premier Reserve League. The surprise move comes despite leaked details of a much needed revamp, which is set to come into play for the new season.The Gunners join Fulham, Stoke City, Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur in deciding to pull out of Reserves League, and will instead opt to arrange their own second string fixtures in the form of friendlies. The decision will see a complete overhaul of youth development at Arsenal, with those previously in the Reserve team now stepping up into the first-team as part of the 25 man squad rule. The Under 18′s will continue as normal, while a large number of players will be leaving on loan.The clubs prowess in the Reserves has been well documented, and it was thought that Arsenal would be one of the key participants in the new re-shuffled league. However, this move is a sign of the quality in the Academy, with players now poised for a quicker route from Under 18′s football into the first-team. The best players will be moved up to work with Arsène Wenger, while those just needing a little extra will leave on loan.Neil Banfield’s role should also adjust slightly. He is expected to focus more heavily on helping making the transition into the first-team a smooth one, while still taking the friendly games.Further details of how the new ‘Arsenal XI’ will play their games this season should be announced shortly.
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Arsenal striker Luke Freeman has completed his loan move to League One side Yeovil Town. Freeman, who also received an offer for a temporary spell with QPR, will stay at Huish Park initially until December with the opportunity for an extension dependent on his progress.Freeman becomes the first of Arsenal’s 2008 scholars to go out on loan and will have a familiar face to keep him company during his time with the Glovers in Luke Ayling, the defender who completed his permanent move to Yeovil yesterday.Several other young Gunners are expected to go out on loan in the coming months. Francis Coquelin has already joined French side Lorient, whilst the likes of Kyle Bartley, Craig Eastmond and Thomas Cruise may also be leaving the club on a temporary basis in the near future.
Sign of things to come...
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Gilles Sunu is ready to follow compatriot Francis Coquelin back to France for the coming season, with the rapid forward eying a second loan spell. The former Châteauroux prospect signed a new two-year-contract at the end of last season, following a short spell with Derby County in the Championship.Sunu’s development has been ramped up in the last 12 months, with a Carling Cup start and a appearance in the Champions League all key in building the promising Frenchman’s experience. In February he joined Derby County on loan and impressed, with one goal and a bag full of assists in nine matches before injury.Speaking to FootMercato.net, the 19-year-old revealed the advice given to him by Arsene Wenger before making the switch to the Rams.“He said he’d fit me in more with the first team for future matches but at my age most important thing is to play every week. And if it is not possible this year with Arsenal, I prefer to go on loan.”With the news yesterday that the Reserves has been disbanded, those ineligible for Under 18 football will either need to step up to the first-team or go on loan. The former is the first priority, but the route Francis Coquelin has already taken this year, going on loan in Ligue One, is a viable option.“If Arsenal want to count on me, my main goal is to have more playing time at the club. Otherwise, I leave on loan again, but this time in France, a bit like the situation with Francis Coquelin. My priority is to return to France.”Gilles has been linked with Bordeaux and Sochaux in the French media, with his future poised to be agreed upon his return from the UEFA Under 19 European Championships later this month.

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Young Guns reports that Arsenal has joined several other Premier League clubs, including Tottenham, in abandoning the FA Premier Reserve League following reforms to that competition that do not go far enough. Moving to a group phased competition instead of a formal league was considered insufficient to warrant participation.Some of the players will be promoted to meet new first team squad regulations whilst the Reserves will play a series of friendlies instead. For Arsenal, it is hard to see the benefits overall. The only real cost saving is staging the matches and travel. Whilst the players may be promoted to the first team squad, they are no more likely to gain a place in Premier or Champions League matches than they were before. Problems at this level present English football with a unique opportunity, a chance to restructure itself for the 21st Century and ensure the continued survival of the game.Most clubs professionally lose money. It is not a fact with which the Premier or Football Leagues argue. Measures put in place on a European-wide scale only impact upon those who will participate in European competition. Domestic restrictions on wages has not solved the problems faced by the clubs, insolvency still a real threat for a large number.The structure of the game needs to be overhauled. The way forward is to go back to the future. Regionalisation of League One and Two has to happen but on a wider scale than before. Instead of a straight North / South split which ended in 1958, the inclusion of a Midlands division presents the game with an opportunity to fast-track younger players into a situation whereby they will gain experience.That objective is beneficial to all involved albeit never acknowledged. For England, it allows clubs to see how well the youngsters are developing, the better players will gain similar experience to going on loan but retain the training philosophy of their parent club. That may not always be better than lower league clubs – it depends on the manager – but in terms of technique, it requires the EPL clubs to focus rather than simply stockpiling youngsters.There is also a benefit for the League clubs; risks in signing young players when they are released by the Premier League clubs are reduced, a season spent playing League One or Two means they can scout players before deciding to sign. Far from stopping the circulation of players, it is an asset.For England, it means the Under-21 players come into the set-up on the back of testing themselves in the professional game not through a series of intermittent loan or substitute appearances. Surely this is a better grounding for international football than the current set-up?For this to happen, a change in the attitude of owners is necessary. Resistance to such moves is to be expected although there is merit in them financially. We are long told that ‘derby’ matches are the lifeblood of football; a season of them ought to help. For the Conference, a two-up, two-down promotion to each of the division opens up more opportunities to play at the highest levels and a genuine enhancement to their competition. Regionalisation for the middle of the country is not rigid, there will be new ‘blood’ to ensure the number of teams remains static, some clubs could switch between the divisions almost seasonally. Financially, the need for overnight stays disappears as do long coach journeys, money saved.Other European leagues have the reserves in the lower divisions to varying degrees. The Spaniards seem to welcome them, the Germans tolerate begrudginly. For English teams, it is an opportunity that should be seriously considered instead of whimsically dismissed. Nothing will happen though such is the insularity and protectionist agendas that have made English football flourish thus far.

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Looks like that report is wrong after all...

New Reserve League format announcedPlease note that, as a result of feedback received from member Clubs, the Premier League Board have approved a new Reserve League format for the 2010/2011 season. Participating clubs will be split into three regionalised groups as under:RESERVE LEAGUE FORMAT 2010/2011 Southern Group Northern Group A Northern Group BArsenal Bolton Wanderers Blackburn RoversAston Villa Manchester City BlackpoolChelsea Manchester United EvertonWest Bromwich Albion Newcastle United LiverpoolWest Ham United Wigan Athletic SunderlandWolverhampton Wanderers The League format will result in teams in the Southern Group playing a total of 20 matches and teams in the two Northern Groups playing 19 matches each. Each team will play home and away against the other teams in their group and once against all other teams (equally divided home and away). The winners of the two Northern Groups will play off to determine the Northern League Winners. The Northern League Winners will then play off against the Southern Group Winners to determine the Barclays Premier Reserve League Play Off Winners. The Premier League Board has also given approval for clubs’ training grounds to be used to stage fixtures. Consequently, Arsenal will be staging several home Premier Reserve League fixtures, as afternoon kick offs, at the London Colney Training Centre. Unfortunately, the Club is not permitted to allow supporters at this venue and therefore these home Reserves matches will be staged ‘behind closed doors’. However, the Club hugely values the loyal following that has attended Reserve League matches at Barnet FC in recent years and we are keen to maintain opportunities for supporters to watch young talent developing in our Reserve team. Therefore, we have reached an agreement with Barnet FC to stage home Premier Reserve League matches at Underhill during months with more favourable weather - ie September, March and April, as well as any home FA Youth Cup matches in Rounds Three, Four and Five. The full Premier League Reserves fixture list, including locations of matches, will be announced on www.arsenal.com in the week commencing Monday, July 12
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Arsenal have back tracked on their proposed plan to disband the Reserve team after discussions with the Premier Reserve League. The club had originally planned on leaving second string football for good, despite leaked rumours of a revamp.The details of a new group style setup, similar to the Premier Academy League, were discussed at the end of last season. Young Guns published the proposed details last month, which features a more open format. Arsenal were happy with this, with Neil Banfield repeatedly stressing his desire to face sides in the North and vice-versa.However, the club were dissatisfied that they couldn’t play their matches ‘behind closed doors’ at the training ground. The state of the pitches used at Reserves level has often been a a contentious subject, but now the governing body have approved the use of training grounds instead. The Gunners have changed their stance and will now compete next season.The reason why Arsenal wanted to use the training ground for matches goes far beyond the state of the pitches. The move is seen as a part of a series of apparent secrecy steps which have been introduced, with a clamp down on those being able to watch Arsenal’s potential stars of the future. Liam Brady has frequently spoken about the intense coverage of the club’s prospects, and extra security was added to London Colney half way through last season. Anybody who was suspected of taking pictures or reporting on the games was asked to leave.FA Youth Cup home matches until the sixth round will still take place at Underhill, as well as selected fixtures when the pitch is in good condition as a way of acknowledging the efforts Barnet have gone to when looking after the Gunners second string. All games will take place now during the afternoon instead of the evening. You can view full details on the official website.The fixture list for the 2010/2011 season is out today.

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  • 1 month later...

Concerns are growing for young Arsenal loanee Luke Freeman after the 18 year old striker, who is scheduled to stay with Yeovil Town until January, suffered a suspected broken leg in today’s 2-1 defeat to Bristol Rovers.In a fractious game which saw Yeovil reduced to ten men following the dismissal of JP Kapala, Freeman, who was himself booked for an early challenge, was forced to withdraw two minutes before the interval after receiving a kick on his shin. After the game Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton said“There were a few tackles against us that were close to the mark and Luke (Freeman) has been caught on his shin.“He’s going for an X-ray. We think it could be a broken leg so we’re hoping that doesn’t prove to be the case.If the scan does reveal that Freeman has a broken leg then it is unlikely that the striker will play again for Yeovil unless his loan deal is extended beyond the New Year. Today’s match was only Freeman’s third appearance for the club and marked a stark contrast of emotions to his feelings last week, when the former Gillingham striker scored on his debut against Leyton Orient.There was better news this evening for another Arsenal loanee, Francis Coquelin, who came off the bench for Lorient in their 2-1 defeat to Nice.

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