Q&A with Jeorge Bird from Arsenal Youth

By: Homey | September 14th, 2011

About a week or so ago, I started trying to plan what to write about for the next international break. I got to thinking it would be cool to write about some of the young players coming up through the Arsenal system. However, I wasn’t sure where to start. I remembered that Martin wrote a few blogs about certain players back in the day. In reading this blog about Benik Afobe, Martin mentioned that he got a lot of his info from reading a blog by Jeorge Bird from his website called Arsenal Youth. I wasn’t really familiar with that website, but I really should have been. It’s really a terrific site, with a lot of content on players at every level of the youth system, plus guys out on loan, etc.

So I figured I’d read as much as I could from Jeorge’s site and a few others, pull together some info, and write about various players. But then I thought to myself, “Self, why not just ask Jeorge for some answers, since he’ll be able to write about these players 100 times better than you can.” So I decided to e-mail Jeorge, introduce our website to him, and see if he’d be kind enough to give us some answers for a blog on our site. He very quickly wrote back to say yes. Then I wrote him several questions, and he quickly wrote back with his answers.

I was still planning on running this during the next international break, which starts in early October. However, when I’m sitting on blogging gold, I want to share that gold with our loyal readers. And without any other blogging ideas for the next couple of days, I decided to just post this now. I still have two more ideas for interlull blogs, both of which require a lot more research. And hopefully my colleagues will have a few thoughts to keep us busy during that time period as well. Ok, so anyway, here are my questions and Jeorge’s answers. I hope you all enjoy, and please visit his site at http://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com.

1) How do you go about following the youth teams? Do you attend live matches, follow online, etc?
I used to attend Reserve and under-18s games regularly, but in recent years the club have made it increasingly difficult to gain access to such fixtures. I still attend all of the Reserve games at Barnet and the FA Youth Cup games, as well as the occasional under-18 fixture, but it does seem as if the club are attempting to discourage people from watching the games. It is also difficult when Reserve or under-18 games clash with first-team fixtures because I obviously can’t be in two places at the same time.
Aneke
2) Who do you consider to be the biggest talent among the reserves at the moment – the guy most likely to make a big impact in the future?
If you disregard Francis Coquelin and Benik Afobe who are already on the fringes of the first-team, I would say Chuks Aneke. He has always stood out because of his tall frame and impressive technical ability, but he is now adding goals to his game on a regular basis at Reserve level and creates numerous chances for others. He could feature in the Carling Cup this season before a loan spell later in the campaign. Beyond that, Oguzhan Ozyakup is a highly-technical, ball-playing midifelder who has been deployed in a similar role to the one that Jack Wilshere operated in for the first-team last season. His passing ability is exceptional, although a loan spell is likely to be needed first in order for him to adapt to the physical rigours of competitive football in England.

3) How do our current reserves, and our entire youth system, compare to the other big clubs in England?
Much was made of the perceived failure of Arsenal’s reserve and youth system after the harrowing 10-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Reserve level last season, but the reality is that Neil Banfield’s side used nearly 50 players throughout the campaign and still came close to winning the title, finishing above Villa and just one point behind group winners Chelsea.

Reserve football has changed considerably from the way it was 15 or so years ago when first-team players would regularly receive run-outs to boost their fitness, at least at our club. Arsenal use the Reserves as the next step up from the under-18s and the majority of this season’s starting line-up at Reserve level were still eligible for Academy football last season. Occasionally they come up against sides fielding several familiar names, like Blackburn last season who called upon the likes of Benjani, David Dunn and Jason Roberts, but such contests only serve to enhance the development of Arsenal’s young players.

It is also worth bearing in mind that reserve football, particularly at Arsenal, is in a constant state of flux, with players frequently going out on loan and others progressing from the under-18s, meaning that it is very rare for a consistent line-up to be fielded.

4) Have you seen enough of our new buys this summer (Gnabry, Toral, Bellerin) to form an opinion about who might be promising in the future?
I first saw Gnabry in action in the pre-season friendly victory over Boreham Wood this summer and he made an instant impression with his passing ability and also scored with an emphatic header. Toral is a creative midfielder who will create competition for Alban Bunjaku, a player who was one of the star performers for the under-18s in an inconsistent campaign last season. Bellerin, meanwhile, can operate either at right-back or on the right-wing and caught the eye in the under-18s pre-season friendlies. All three players, along with Swedish recruit Kristoffer Olsson, who possesses excellent technical ability, should receive plenty of game time in the under-18s this season and should they impress could filter through to the Reserves before the campaign is out. All four look intriguing prospects for the future.

5) Among the young players who have recently been loaned out, who do you believe can come back to the club and produce in the first team?
It is always difficult when assessing players out on loan because there is always a nagging feeling that, even if they impress, if they play in a position that is congested with regards to the Arsenal first-team, they may still not make the breakthrough. Henri Lansbury is one player who could fall into that category. He has started life at West Ham well, scoring on his debut, but was left bitterly disappointed when he was told by Arsene Wenger that he wouldn’t be afforded regular first-team opportunities at Arsenal this season. With Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and now Mikel Arteta ahead of him, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see him making it as an Arsenal regular.

Joel Campbell, meanwhile, looks as if he will adapt seamlessly to French football with Lorient, although, as Arsenal are well aware, players awaiting work permits can take years to earn one. Pedro Botelho, for instance, is now embarking on his fifth loan spell since joining the club and is yet to make an appearance for Arsenal at any level. Kyle Bartley is another loanee to watch out for, and if he enjoys another impressive season in Scotland once recovered from injury, he may find himself part of the Arsenal first-team set-up. Wellington, the Brazilian youngster, remains a promising talent but concerns have been raised about his alleged poor attitude.
benik-afobe-arsenal
6) Are there any specific positions where we’re particularly weak or particularly strong among the youth players?
There seems to be an abundance of attacking talent in the Reserve and under-18 setups at present, with Afobe, Sanchez Watt and Luke Freeman supplemented by the likes of Zak Ansah, Nigel Neita, Philip Roberts, Chuba Akpom and Jeffrey Monakana in the under-18s. Contrastly, right-back always seems to be something of a problem position, with players such as Nico Yennaris (nominally a holding midfielder) and Sead Hajrovic (who is far more comfortable at centre-back) often asked to play there.

7) Generally speaking, do you think it’s better for the development of a young player to go out on loan to a team in a lower league, or to play for the reserves?
Reserve football is a useful outlet for players who have just made the step up from the under-18s as it is slightly quicker and a lot more physical than Academy football, whilst other sides do occasionally field experienced players, and playing against such individuals can only be of benefit for the youngsters. There comes a point, however, when players become somewhat stagnant at Reserve level and are in desperate need of a step up. There are a few players, including the likes of Aneke and Freeman, who are reaching that stage now, and loan spells are vital for players who have reached a certain stage in their young careers. At Reserve level, points don’t tend to matter too much, but in the Championship and League One, every point counts and that is an important learning curve for young players.

8 ) Finally, I’ve noticed that your website doesn’t seem to have any advertising on it. So you don’t seem to be in this for the money. What’s your interest in the youth team, as opposed to the rest of us who blog about the big boys?
I’ve always taken an interest in young players breaking through to the first team, particularly in the Carling Cup. I used to always watch the highlights of Reserve games on Arsenal.com as well, but it was during the 2006/07 season that I started to attend second-string games regularly. There was a game against Charlton when Arsenal won 4-0 and the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Ashley Cole, Jeremie Aliadiere all played and I started to attend games regularly from then on. I go to a lot of first-team games and I am considering starting a blog on that too, but youth development is intriguing for me because you feel a sense of pride when, on the odd occasion that a player does make it through to the first-team, you have followed their journey and watched them mature in the process.

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Gigi_man

Preview! we the people, ask for a preview :)
I have to say, you guys really deliver, I mean, I realize that I am used to opening and seeing everyhing I look for.
Sorry, you just put the bar higher for yourselves :P
Homey_Mills

At some point today, there will be a preview. At what point exactly, I'm not sure. Martin and Sairax used to post things mostly in the mornings. We tend to post at completely random times. Me in particular. I do most of my writing at night. Anyway, I think Brenton will have something up later, and JG will live blog it, and then either Darren or I will recap.
Homey_Mills

I was just reading a new post at the Liverpool site, where Noel was doing a Q&A with a Spurs blogger. In the middle of all that, there was a bizarre and funny paragraph just stuck in there. I thought I'd cut/paste for everyone here to enjoy (without giving a rival site more page views, of course):
The more thought you give to antiperspirants, the more disturbing they become. Most obviously, they function by blocking the pores of a person’s armpit, preventing sweat from escaping the body. Beyond being a method of regulating internal temperature, sweat at the armpits is one of the body’s key methods for clearing toxins that get drawn to the lymph nodes located there, and in the simplest and most graphic terms slathering on antiperspirant is the equivalent of sticking a giant cork in your car’s exhaust—or perhaps finding the nearest sewage treatment plant and stopping up the outtake. This is rather obviously not a great thing, as now all that waste that gets shunted to the area to be expelled is locked in a moist, bacteria rich environment. All of which perhaps wouldn’t be such a bad thing if one were to keep to a strict regimen of showering after using an antiperspirant in order to re-open the pores and clear away the festering bacteria that had been given a temporary home—except that almost all antiperspirants also contain anti-bacterial agents. While anti-bacterial products are quite nearly unavoidable most places, they do have their downsides. Mainly that they don’t kill all bacteria—they just kill 99% of bacteria. Which sounds fantastic until you realise that those that survive are the toughest of the tough, living their lives right up at the minuscule sliver to the right of the bacterial bell curve. So to make a long story short, antiperspirants are essentially your way of running a bacterial eugenics program inside your body, killing off the weakest 99% and locking whoever remains in a hothouse to breed. And if you run out of antiperspirant for a couple of days, chances are you’ll be able to smell the results you’ve been brewing.
Homey_Mills

I can't believe nobody is wanting to talk about Cesc's recent statements. We're a quiet group today.
Gigi_man

Yop. I was completely absent yesterday.
But I just saw in yahoo sports that he supposedly denied talking bad about Arsenal?
Kas123

Hey homey, I think you should do a Then and Now Article. Ranging from the invincibles to now, what we're lost, what we've gained, how we've grown, where we've declined, and where we're potentially headed. As a club on a whole of course and not limited to on field business. Whatcha think?
Kas123

I know it may be kinda broad, and may have a lot of subjects to cover, but I think that would be nice to read.
Homey_Mills

Hmmm... sounds like a good idea. It's just one of those things where I'd have to be careful. I'm already the "negative" blogger, so I don't want to write about how things have declined in various ways. But yeah, maybe just a blog catching up with the whereabouts of former players. Might be interesting during the next interlull. Maybe the other bloggers could look at it from a different angle, such as how our tactics have changed, or something like that.
Gigi_man

Remember, we need the balance.
Let go you anger, and let yourself go in the dark side.
Truly yours,
Darth
Perry S.

I figured the Cesc statements were false and they are, but the one that seriously pisses me off is Josep admitting that after seeing Frannie play, he now understands his true value of 53 million that Arsenal were asking for. Arsenal really got jobbed in this deal and it really irritates me when Barca reps spout off about it...have some effing class...oh wait.
JG

The man went on Twitter today to personally slam the statements and call them false. I'm inclined to believe him.
Ramzi

Fake quotes? Cesc related? Oh wait!
Darren_V

Except when Nasri did the same... no one beleived him.
Kas123

Honestly Homey, I think everyone is trying to move on from Cesc. Its a like an Ex girlfriend, u can't respond to every she barks sometimes silence is best. He didn't have confidence that he'd win anything with us, thats his prerogative.
Orion

I did fall for the "I'm gonna die alone" syndrome, and replied to him on twitter saying that the Arsenal door will be forever open. I just suck at breaking up, man.
Kas123

Honestly Homey, I think everyone is trying to move on from Cesc. Its a like an Ex girlfriend, u can't respond to every time she barks sometimes silence is best. He didn't have confidence that he'd win anything with us, thats his prerogative.
Homey_Mills

Ok, much better... at least now I know people are awake.
Kas123

Yeah, busy week
Orion

I can see you put in a lot of effort in your blogs Homey, well done. Its very interesting to read about our next generation of Gunners, and while watching the reserves' highlights against Bolton, its fair to say I was filled with hope for the future. We hear a lot about the players who finally make it out of the Academy (Cesc, Wilshere, Szcz, etc) but there are a lot of players who don't. So its definitely a survival-of-the-fittest contest, but with hard work, a lot of our current batch of youths can make the grade to repay the trust that was put in them by Banfield and Wenger. I really wish them luck.
Homey_Mills

Thanks. I'm looking forward to who we might see next week against Shrewsbury. Maybe Miquel, Aneke, Coquelin, Afobe, and a few other new faces (Santos, Park, AOC, etc). It should still be enough to get past them, let's hope.
Carson Jenga

By the way Homey, I really appreciate your effort on your blogs and although I disagree with a lot of the things you say I think the blog is stronger for the opposing opinion's created by the (blogging) team. To be honest I actually am enjoying reading more than in the Martin/Sairax days... Sacrilege around these parts I know:) but hey c'est la vérité!
Homey_Mills

Thanks. Definitely sacrilege though. Both Martin and Sairax know a LOT more soccer than I do. The only advantage I have is that there's a group of 4 of us. I don't feel a crunch to roll out a new blog every day, or even every other day. So that allows me to research various ideas I have and put some time into it. I think that's really the only difference. Martin also had some well-researched blogs as well.
Carson Jenga

Awesome blog Homey, its always great hearing about our youth players! I am not sure if this is possible Homey but could you ask Jeorge why does he think Arsenal is making it harder to see youth games? Or in which way have they made it more difficult to gain access? Just curious:p
Martin

Can't speak to the "why," but as to the "which way," they've mainly done two things: (1) they used to have all the Reserves fixtures at Underhill (home of League Two side Barnet), where they were open to the public and cheap, so either super-hardcore Arsenal fans or younger fans who couldn't afford first-team matches could attend regularly; now they have moved a lot (I think even most) of the Reserves fixtures to the Colney training center, where the team practices, and these matches are closed to the public; and (2) all Reserves team fixtures used to be broadcast on ArsenalTVOnline, so if you were a subscriber (now there are no more subscribers, and all members have access to this), you could watch the Reserves matches on your computer. They stopped that several seasons ago.

So basically, you used to have the option of seeing all the matches online and all of the home matches at Underhill; now, the best you can do is catch a few of the matches at Underhill. I would like to see them open this back up, although I'm not sure how much of an actual demand there is for it, and some of the reasons given by the club (turnout at Reserves matches was low, and players were at greater risk of injury playing on poor pitch, especially in cold weather; broadcasting Reserves fixtures was expensive and not that popular) are not completely unreasonable.
Homey_Mills

Totally unrelated topic, but what happened to the Liverpool Offside website? When I click on their link, or type on their website, it just directs me to the main Offside page. They've been about the #1 or #2 site on the Offside network for a while. Weird.
Martin

You should check their Twitter TL (@LFCOffside), I believe I saw them talking about server issues or something yesterday.
Homey_Mills

OK, I guess I should have thought to go there first. Thanks.
Leopold

Good piece. Regarding Lansbury, since he just signed a new contract, I sense that Arsene does have a plan for him in the first team. It's nice to see English youngsters like Wilshere, Gibbs, Lansbury, Afobe, Bartley, Frimpong (now Ghanaian) all mostly from club's academy making the cut here. This bunch of youngsters might dominate the English football for the years to come.
Martin

I wrote a blog on that very subject a little over a year ago: http://arsenal.theoffside.com/...
FredJacob

Arsenal (R) v Bolton (R) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
FredJacob

- Afobe Exclusive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Gigi_man

Interesting. There is a great feeling on hoping that a player from reserves make it to the 1st team. Hopefully some of the mentioned here will.
Too bad for Lansbury, I think he has a great attitude in wanting to win and not letting go, the kind of attitude I am seing a bit more now, but that definitely would do us good, I hope that with his extension signed it means AW is considering him for the 1st team soon.
Homey_Mills

This blog was a little more for the hard-core fan than the casual fan. I hope some of the hard-cores appreciate Jeorge's input for us. I look forward to maybe seeing some of these guys in the Carling Cup pretty soon.