Wednesday, September 5th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. 800,000 visits last month

by Milan Gjorchevski

Dejan Iliev has joined Arsenal. You are probably scratching your heads with the question in mind…Dejan Who?

Well, as proud Macedonian and Arsenal Supporter I’m very excited to see that this is the first Macedonian player in Arsenal’s history who will wear Arsenal’s shirt.

So who is Dejan Iliev? A goalkeeper. Born 25.02.1995, 195cm, 81 kg – played for FK Belasica (second-tier football club in Macedonia which produced Goran Pandev). He represented national team of Macedonia for U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels.

Since there is nothing on the official Arsenal site, I cannot send you more information in terms of contract or player’s profile. In the interview for the local TV station, he told reporter that he will join Academy and he is training with the Reserves and first-team sometimes.

He is delighted that he joined such a big club and had praised Arsene Wenger and the stuff at Arsenal, also praised staff in his former club for all the hard work that they put in him. There were also reports that Arsene told him that if he keeps progressing he will be first goalkeeper for Arsenal in couple of years, but you know how media works…

I really don’t like judging football players through Youtube videos, but that’s the only thing I can find online, just for you to see the boy. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r3nTxhHWFk

And also picture with Arsene (I hope this is not Photoshop!

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/21741/50/

I wish him good luck at Arsenal and just keep the hard work!

Footnote by Tony

As this story broke two or three other sites have carried a couple of lines about Dejan Iliev – one in particular saying “Why Wenger Why?” or words to that effect.  Their point being that we need other players not another keeper.

There have also been people writing to this site complaining about Vito Mannone and asking (rhetorically) how we could be in such a state as a club that we have to put Mannone into the first team and have Damian Martinez on the bench against Liverpool.

Leaving aside the fact that I felt Mannone did well, it always surprises me when fans can’t grasp the fact that it is impossible to have top rated keepers permanently sitting as the third choice keeper.  They simply don’t get the games, and then just go to a club where they do get the games.

Great players don’t stay for long on the sidelines.

As far as I know, after the top three keepers (two of whom have been injured these past two weeks) we have James Shea, Reice Charles-Cook, Josh Vickers and Damian Martinez.  Damian Martinez is the name we all got to know last season after he sat on the bench for an Argentina first team game, following injuries to their squad.

So why one more?  Because, as Mr Wenger has said so often, it is very difficult if not impossible to predict how players will develop.  That’s why we collect players, and why, when an exceptional talent becomes available at a young age, Arsenal move for the player.

The player comes to Arsenal because the quality of the coaching for young players is exceptional.  Better the luxury of the surroundings and the excellence of the coaching at Arsenal, but with several players in front of you, than going straight to a 3rd division team, getting a game each week, but without a quality coach to help you improve.

Transfers like this one don’t make major headlines but they are part of the life blood of the club.

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