Arsenal v Boca: The teams and player updates « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
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By Tony Attwood
With your help we’ve been trying to keep track of the players whom Mr Wenger will be using as the first team squad this season, and recent events have given a bit of an update.
I can remember occasions in the past where at the Ems Cup one day we had the youngsters, many of whom most of us had never seen before, and one day we had the obvious first team.
It is a mark of just how far we have got at the club that we now effectively have two first teams, which can intermingle.
So it is not that easy to choose exactly who is going to play, but we can update the player selections of the last couple of days.
Injured:
- Theo (but only for 10 days it seems)
- Conor Henderson (out for at least six months).
- Diaby (about 10 weeks after an operation)
- Cesc (probably fit but awaiting the outcome of the Barca talks)
Not on our radar before:
Benik Afobe who did not play in the reserve game last night, and so looks to have been offered the chance to step up. He played for Huddersfield last season (but not against us owing to the technicalities of the youth player loan system). He was man of the match five times in a row for Huddersfield, made 32 appearances scored 8 goals and 10 assists – despite getting a broken leg part way through the year.
He signed at the age of six (!), and then went on to be one of the top players in the Academy League side having scored 40 goals for the Under 16s in 2007–08, 11 goals in 13 in 2008–09, and 21 in 24 the under 18s in 2009–10.
He captained England under-12s at the World Cup in 2005, was part of England Under-16 team that won the Victory Shield in 2008, with four goals in three games, and part of the England Under 17 squad that won the European Championship in May 2010.
This past June he joined the squad to play in the under 20 world cup, but has withdrawn from that. I am told (but this is not gospel) that Mr Wenger pulled him out so that he could play in the pre-season games.
Henri Lansbury
I had thought he was drifting out of contention after failing to make it as a regular in the Norwich team that got promotion, but apparently he is back in contention. What I missed (what a dumbo) is that he was called up into the England Under 21 team for the 2011 UEFA Under-21 Championships and actually played in all 3 group stage matches as a substitute.
He won’t play this weekend (see below) but he is on the map.
On international duty
Coquelin, Sunu, playing for France in the under 20 world cup in Columbia at the moment. Ignasi Miquel of Spain has just finished playing in the European under 19s championships.
Playing last night (Friday)
Here’s the team that played against Boreham Stiff (sorry wood)
- Reice Charles-Cook
- Nico Yennaris
- Jernade Meade
- Samual Galindo
- Sead HajrovicDaniel
- Boateng
- Henri Lansbury
- Oguzhan Ozyakup
- Sanchez Watt
- Chuks Aneke
- Luke Freeman
Substitutes
- Martin Angha
- Tony Roberts
- Elton Montelro
- George Brislen-Hall
- Kyle Ebecilio
- Serge Gnarby
So who might we see?
One of the Polish pair
Sagna Vermaelen Squillaci Gibbs
Wilshere Song
Nasri
Gervinho Van Persie Arshavin
Or the other team
The other Pole (Mannone)
Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Djourou, Traore
Frimpong
Rosicki, Ramsey
Miyaichi, Afobe, Chamakh, (Vela)
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