Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger in all he does » It’s the Frimpong-Wilshere show: Barnet 4 Arsenal 21
Same format as last year – all change at half time, but this time the reserves and the first team were more mixed.
No Almunia though, which maybe says something – we saw the second, third and fourth choice keepers but not Big Al. No Denilson – he’s injured. No world cup players – they are on the beach. No Eduardo – which again maybe says something.
We expect to take a stroll in this encounter, and a shots total of 21 against 4 is about right. But the first half was really something nice, especially for Frimpong playing defensive midfield and Wilshere attacking midfield who both look several light centuries ahead of where they were this time last year. Jack looked totally ready for the first team – composed, brilliant, organised, brilliant, well-placed, brilliant, aware, and did I mention that he was brilliant. Frimpong looked like Song a year or two back but with more sense of adventure. Wow! A defensive midfielder in the classic up and at em mould.
You’ll be able to read detailed analyses elsewhere, but what does this tell us for the coming months?
The absence of Eduardo and Almunia might say something.
Simpson was a surprise inclusion (to me) and he looked his normal solid self. He never seems to be an exciting player, and yet his goals were well taken. Traore looked a good midfielder, much more than a defender. Nordveit had little to do at full back, but he looked competent.
In the second half Eastmond and Henderson seemed to show that they are now pushing forward into the first team squad with Lansbury. Add in Wilshere, Frimpong, Simpson, and JET who had a solid first half and that is seven Arsenal kiddies making their way into the future. Nordveit I’d say should still be there, but Barazite failed to impress today – but maybe he had a headache.
Beyond that I am not sure what we can tell – some players have turned up in these matches in the past in order to go on loan or be transferred, some have started on the journey towards the top. But the first half was good fun. Second half Theo ran around a bit.
I guess we learn a lot more about the squad when we see who has gone to Austria. If Almunia and/or Eduardo are not on that plane then we’ll know that they are not staying.
The new signings incidentally were rubbish.
Tony Attwood
PS: One sentence or possibly more in the above has an element of irony within it.
There’s more to football than meets the eye
Compare the 11 starting this match with the 11 who started 100 years ago