Player Profiles

Welcome To Young Guns Player Profiles section, this is the best place around to read in depth about Arsenal’s Reserves and Youth squad. All the players featured have either signed professional or scholarship contracts, or have featured for Arsenal’s Reserves or Under 18’s.

All the profiles are produced by J.Sanderson and are copyright to Young Guns. Any opinions expressed are those of myself [J.Sanderson] and not the opinions of Arsenal PLC.

Arsenal’s official Profiles can be found Here

Goalkeepers

Vito Mannone
Wojciech Szczesny
James Shea
Charlie Mann

Defenders

Havard Nordtveit (C)
Gavin Hoyte
Paul Rodgers
Abu Ogogo
Kerrea Gilbert
Anton Blackwood
Rene Steer
Kyle Bartley
Luke Ayling
Thomas Cruise
Cedric Evina
Oliver Nicholas
Rhema Obed
Sam Byles
Ignasi Miquel
Pedro Botelho

Midfielders

Mark Randall
Fran Merida Perez
Kieran Gibbs
James Dunne
Aaron Ramsey
Henri Lansbury
Jack Wilshere
Craig Eastmond
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Oguzhan Özyakup
Conor Henderson
Emmanuel Frimpong
Chuks Aneke
Francis Coquelin
Jonas Hebo Rasmussen
Rorie Deacon

Forwards

Sanchez Watt
Jason Banton
Jay Simpson
Vincent Van Den Berg
Carlos Vela
Nacer Barazite
Gilles Sunu
Rui Fonte
Rhys Murphy
Luke Freeman
Benik Afobe


©YoungGuns.WordPress.com - 2008 - All rights reserved.


75 Responses to “Player Profiles”

  1. Oh my!

    This is a nice looking blog!

    Lots of info!

    Keep it up and wow Benik is only 14! He is on my MySpace friends list (Y)

    M-Four said this on January 15, 2008 at 8:33 pm

  2. how do u pronounc nordtveit’s name???

    jon said this on January 25, 2008 at 2:55 pm

  3. Har Vard - Nordt Veet

    J.Sanderson said this on January 25, 2008 at 3:38 pm

  4. Im norwegian. It is more like: hovard nor-tvait

    Skt said this on January 27, 2008 at 7:21 pm

  5. [...] Can Read More About Rhys Murphy In Our Player Profiles [...]

    Rhys Murphy Close To A Return « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on January 27, 2008 at 9:19 pm

  6. [...] Out More On Kieran Gibbs In Our Player Profiles [...]

    Southampton Eyeing Kieran Gibbs. « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on January 28, 2008 at 7:23 am

  7. another norwegian says its more like: Hawaar Noor-twaite

    but I bet i’ll ever hear a native english speaker pronounce it like that.

    btw; nice blog! :)

    bold marauder said this on January 28, 2008 at 4:48 pm

  8. we’ve got some sweet young players, can’t wait for a few years down the road. our youth team will power our 1st team. great to see the true quality of a club

    str8goon said this on January 29, 2008 at 7:11 pm

  9. [...] Read More About The Young Players In Our Player Profiles Section [...]

    Player Profile - Benik Afobe « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on February 3, 2008 at 12:25 am

  10. just curious, was abdulla brought to arsenal in jan. around the same time as we got freeman? or did we have him in our academy or something? and GREAT site… always hear about the youngsters signing, and that’s it…

    caligoon said this on February 3, 2008 at 1:40 am

  11. He has been with us for a while mate, he signed Scholarship terms in January,.

    J.Sanderson said this on February 3, 2008 at 1:47 am

  12. abdullah is not signin yet as he is lookin to go to other clubs.

    jonny said this on February 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm

  13. [...] Read More About Vito In Our Player Profiles [...]

    Young Guns Player Of The Month - Vito Mannone « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on February 4, 2008 at 9:04 pm

  14. u Pronounce Nordtveit like this. Haa vard Nor Tveet

    Norseman said this on February 11, 2008 at 4:10 pm

  15. the aa in Haa is a norwegian letter almost sounding like a oh. Haavard is quite similar to Howard, though drag the aa long, then a quick pressured -”vard” (va as in VAn der vaart) without pronouncing the d. Our Norwegian names can be quite hard, and if you knew mine you would have ten times more the sweat

    sebjob said this on February 14, 2008 at 10:14 am

  16. The letter you’re looking for is Å (å) and it’s sounds quite simiallar to oh. Håvard. so it’s like Hohvaard Nortvait, that is the best a Englishman can prenounce it.

    hojo said this on February 15, 2008 at 8:42 pm

  17. I’ll stick to saying it in my cockney accent: Harvard NordVite

    Chris said this on February 16, 2008 at 10:12 pm

  18. :D

    Chris said this on February 16, 2008 at 10:12 pm

  19. You’ve left me a bit confused about the captaincy of both the Reserves and U-18s. I thought Nordtveit was the captain of the Reserves and Gavin Hoyte the captain of the u-18s. I’m a bit confused because it seems that Kyle Bartley and Thomas Cruise start in center defense for the U-18s. Could you clarify?

    Malcolm said this on February 22, 2008 at 1:29 pm

  20. Also two questions:
    1. Who do you think will leave in the summer?
    2. Who do you think the next group of players to sign pro will be?

    Malcolm said this on February 22, 2008 at 1:45 pm

  21. 1) Steer, Rodgers, Ogogo, Ayling.
    2) Thomas, Lansbury, not sure.

    J.Sanderson said this on February 22, 2008 at 1:49 pm

  22. So that would leave spots for Evina and Eastmond to come into the squad?
    Also do you think anyone will go out on loan?

    Malcolm said this on February 22, 2008 at 2:06 pm

  23. Is Rui Fonte the captain of Portugal at any level? I looks like in the picture on the front page that he is wearing a captains armband.

    Malcolm said this on February 25, 2008 at 8:24 pm

  24. [...] More On The Youth Players, In Our Player Profiles [...]

    Top 5 Arsenal Youngsters To Watch In 2008 « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on February 28, 2008 at 3:50 pm

  25. Håvard Nordtveit impressed on Tuesday as Norway’s U-19s beat Croatia 1-0 away. A match report in Norwegian to be found here:
    http://www.fotball.no/t2.aspx?p=53176&cat=51835&x=1&a=221465

    Jørn Smedslund said this on March 13, 2008 at 10:53 am

  26. I feel Arsenal would be doing very well if half dozen of these youths come good (to 1st team), and we manage to sell a dozen with decent profits… what a biz!

    useroz said this on March 14, 2008 at 7:31 pm

  27. [...] if you would like to read more about Pedro, visit our Player Profiles Area, or for a more in depth analysis, including video, visit our previous article on [...]

    Arsenal Loanee Pedro Gets Private English Tutor « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on March 14, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  28. i wish you can send the visitig letter to me in nigeria

    ayosmath said this on March 18, 2008 at 9:20 am

  29. Could you please give a no-holds-barred account of who you think will progress to the first team?
    It would be great to know which players will be lining up for the red and white on the Emirates a few years down the track.
    Cheers

    Joe111 said this on March 22, 2008 at 12:38 am

  30. Nacer Barazite and Nordtveit are the biggest talents, the rest are average, Afobe is an interesting prospects.

    Other than that, the rest will not make it.

    J.Sanderson said this on March 22, 2008 at 12:47 am

  31. What about Wilshere??

    Joshua said this on March 22, 2008 at 2:56 pm

  32. Do you think Rui Fonte will make it..

    Do you think that Randall, Lansbury and Freeman won’t make it?

    GunnerRashidinho said this on March 22, 2008 at 4:08 pm

  33. [...] young talents, with in depth biography’s and images, why not visit our brand news Player Profiles [...]

    Want To Learn More About Arsenal’s Young Players? « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on March 22, 2008 at 11:21 pm

  34. Sanderson//

    I think it’s very wrong to say that “the rest will not make it” when they’re just 16-17-18 years old. I’ve seen 23-24 year old guys who have had an enourmos development from beeing like League 1-class to PL-class. Look on Crouch, Perrotta, Toni, David James, Flamini etc., all of them have had an late development in their carriers if you compare to these guys. I’m not saying that we should keep them all, but it’s wrong to say that “the rest will not make it”.

    Sorry for english.

    José said this on March 23, 2008 at 11:18 am

  35. these guys* = Arsenals U-18, reserves etc.

    José said this on March 23, 2008 at 11:19 am

  36. The point is, Arsenal will not give them that time to develop, therefore they will not make it here.

    J.Sanderson said this on March 23, 2008 at 11:43 am

  37. Yes, it’s possible, but you said that they will not make it, not they will not make it in Arsenal.

    José said this on March 23, 2008 at 11:51 am

  38. does rui fonte play like c.ronaldo i hope he does

    john said this on March 23, 2008 at 9:06 pm

  39. Will Rui Fonte make it??

    GunnerRashidinho said this on March 24, 2008 at 9:22 am

  40. does rui fonte play like c.ronaldo i hope he does?

    john said this on March 24, 2008 at 12:31 pm

  41. any information about the fa allowin our reserves to play leage football?

    dyce said this on March 24, 2008 at 3:19 pm

  42. The thing is J.Sanderson doesn’t know either who will make it and who won’t
    Look at A.Cole, Wenger said about him nobody expected him to make it at Arsenal when he played in our youth system.
    But he had the desire to make it and he did it.

    Joshua said this on March 25, 2008 at 1:08 pm

  43. [...] can find all their profiles here and [...]

    Sam Levenback » Distracting myself from Arsenal’s miserable March said this on March 30, 2008 at 4:16 am

  44. [...] other news, we have updated our Player Profile section, with now each player having their own page, to enable better discussion on them, so be [...]

    Arsenal’s Pedro Botelho Set To Be Granted Work Permit « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on April 3, 2008 at 8:32 pm

  45. what about lansbury

    Nr790 said this on April 4, 2008 at 5:41 am

  46. Excellent site. Very interesting to learn about the young players at our club. Rather disappointing that, according to Sanderson, only a couple will make the breakthrough. Is it really worth having a youth system that might have be so unsuccessful at producing first team players?

    Erwin said this on April 4, 2008 at 9:12 am

  47. Maybe they will make it.. Its just j. sandersons opinion. In my opinion at least 4-5 of them will play t pl level. Players like Nordtveit, Fran Merida, Lansbury….

    Henriko said this on April 4, 2008 at 3:04 pm

  48. I’m not so negative as you lot, when it comes to this crop of youth players… I could see Vela, Gibbs & Merida challenging for spots next season (and no Eboue, and probably no Gilberto). By 2010 I could see Nordveit, Lansbury & Barazite challenging for open spots.

    Bloody hell, if I really want to reach into the crystal ball… by Euro 2012, I see Ignasi Miquel, Evina, Gilles Sunu & Rasmussen stepping up as well.

    Who knows who we’ll sign, but the future looks quite bright in the system. So long as FIFA doesn’t throw a tire iron into Arsene’s plan to form his own u-18 Galácticos.

    Danny M said this on April 4, 2008 at 11:10 pm

  49. i bet youve been asked this alot but i was just wondering who do you think will make it out of all these youngsters? some will, some wont. How about this for a carling cup side;
    vito mannone in net
    g hoyte RB
    miquel and nordtveit CB
    pedro LB
    Wilshere / merida / lansbury MF’s
    Vela (obviously :) LM
    Afobe RM
    barazite & Freeman banging themin up front?????

    It looks a quality side and i havent even seen most of them play.
    love the site sanderson you really are a gem

    jimmy buffet said this on April 6, 2008 at 12:38 pm

  50. Sanderson, first of all great site, i read ur blog every day, keep up the good work

    i might be able to get you some info on the rumours of the player who failed the drugs test at Arsenal, i will be in contact with two youth players who i know fairly well and i will try and get you some answers on whether there is any truth in the rumour and if there is then who is the player involved

    anyways, keep up the great work mate! stunning site!

    Deepak said this on April 14, 2008 at 12:48 pm

  51. Word from sources at the club is that Denilson had been given a few weeks leave from the club to deal with matters off the pitch, he is now back in full training and its doubtful that he is the one rumoured to have failed a recreational drugs test

    Deepak said this on April 14, 2008 at 1:22 pm

  52. “The point is, Arsenal will not give them that time to develop, therefore they will not make it here.”

    Doesn’t that go against Wenger’s talk about wanting to bring through some players from the youthsystem in the future? I’m sure what you say is right, but if the club doesn’t give the players a chance to develop then how are they going to bring up players from the youthranks into the first team? (Really tired, so if it’s a stupid question or if I’m not making any sense, I appologise)

    Oh, and do you think there is any chance there is any player in our youth, or academy, systems that could potentially be a new Tony Adams?

    C-J said this on April 15, 2008 at 8:11 pm

  53. who is Benik???

    Hamid said this on April 23, 2008 at 9:57 am

  54. How come Gilbert and Van den Berg have crosses through them?

    Johnny Cousens said this on April 23, 2008 at 9:01 pm

  55. Because they’re both being released at the end of the current season.

    Gooner Chris said this on April 24, 2008 at 8:38 pm

  56. Player Of The Year - Nacer Barazite
    Reserves Player Of The Year - Nacer Barazite
    Under 18s Player Of The Year - Jack Wilshere
    Loanee Of the Year - Carlos Vela
    Goal Of The Year - Wilshere vs. West Ham
    Worst Player Of The Year - Vincent van Den Berg

    deepak said this on May 3, 2008 at 12:15 pm

  57. Charlie Mann’s profile doesn’t work for me.

    Matt said this on May 9, 2008 at 10:43 pm

  58. there used to be a player down at arsenal u16s called sean witter what happend to him he used to play with jack, connor, sam , oli, rhema and them lot in there team where did he go ??

    thomas said this on May 13, 2008 at 12:25 am

  59. i can only count 9 players that are going to be successful at the emirates.
    mannone, nordveit, ignasi miquel, botelho. wilshere, lansbury, barazite, freeman and afobe

    Peter said this on May 15, 2008 at 10:45 pm

  60. and merida

    Peter said this on May 15, 2008 at 10:45 pm

  61. i tink dat once a playa signs for arsenal academy there is a 95% gaurantee that they will make it as a pro footballer.Dont you think so?

    damz said this on May 16, 2008 at 4:28 pm

  62. Players To Watch in 2008:

    Vito Mannone
    Havard Nordtveit
    Ignasi Miquel
    Mark Randall
    Fran Merida Perez
    Kieran Gibbs
    Henri Lansbury
    Jack Wilshere
    Carlos Vela
    Nacer Barazite

    Luke14 said this on May 25, 2008 at 9:07 am

  63. seems like we have got enough youngsters to be blooded into the first team for the next few years. can’t wait to see some of these lads in the carling cup next year!

    joe said this on May 26, 2008 at 12:52 pm

  64. jack wiltshire is from hitchin he went priory upper school! i know his brother tom! jacks a left footed striker not a centre midfielder! he can play on either wing as he is quick not afraid to take people on and has an eye for goal! however he see’s his future upfront trust me!

    hitchin mandem said this on May 26, 2008 at 5:36 pm

  65. Let’s hope theo,wilshere,lansbury,randall and gibbs can all stay together for the 6+5 rule that just does not seem to want go away.

    Emmanuel van vela said this on May 31, 2008 at 4:01 pm

  66. Even with the possible impact of 6+5, I think we’re set. Now if we signed a up an coming starlet in goal/central defense (especially one of EU member nation decent) then we’ve shored up another spot.

    Personally, I cannot see the 6+5 rule taking place on a greater scale than limiting the number of non-domestic/EU players on a team. So what if they limit the number of Argentinians, African players or dwarf-like Asian midfielders. I have a feeling the ruling would be killed in courts for anything stricter, so long as the players we pull are from Norway, Holland, Spain, Italy, Ireland, etc… then I think we can avoid any UEFA/FIFA headache.

    Danny M said this on June 13, 2008 at 9:43 am

  67. the young guns !!!!
    never give up
    i’am wait u in the starting eleven !!

    goncecs said this on June 20, 2008 at 9:08 am

  68. [...] magazine, sometime before the start of the season. You can read more about our new scholars in our Player Profile [...]

    Arsenal Hand Scholarships To Twelve Young Prospects « [» Young Guns ! «] said this on June 25, 2008 at 3:38 pm

  69. Top Site Sanderson. Not gonna go on about how I disagree about the youngsters gpnna make it.
    Can’t wait for this years Carling Cup - bring it on! You gotta add Ramsey into the mix now as well.
    The Future’s Bright…The Future’s Arsenal!

    Sh1va81 said this on June 26, 2008 at 4:31 am

  70. Please make put his weight and measure of every player please!!! in cm an kg

    joel jesu said this on June 27, 2008 at 3:21 pm

  71. Good site Jamie, could you please add the DOB of each player please.

    Arsenal 71 said this on July 1, 2008 at 11:04 am

  72. Rhys Murphy seems to be the forgotten prospect at the moment - his injuries and none convincing return will be the reason for that. It’ll be interesting to see if he can get back on track next year. Also Frimpong has all the “tools” to be a big player - let’s hope he pushes on next season.

    LSOE said this on July 1, 2008 at 11:41 am

  73. henri lansbury, jay simpon and rhyz murphy should all go on loan for 6 months and show wenger what they can do! They could be very special little players!!!!

    john said this on July 3, 2008 at 7:46 pm

  74. Good man. I like it……..

    mgkha said this on July 5, 2008 at 5:47 am

  75. Doesnt Gilbert need the cross taken out since hes stayin on for another season (atleast)?

    Johnny Maverik said this on July 20, 2008 at 11:27 pm

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