Young Gunner Watch: Arsenal 3 – 0 Reading
100 comments December 2nd, 2005
Arsenal’s team, with the oldest outfield player aged 23, happily despatched Reading on Tuesday night to reach the Quarter Finals of the Carling Cup.
The goals came from a trio of talented strikers, Jose Reyes, Robin van Persie, and Arturo Lupoli. A review of the younger players follows:
Emmanuel Eboue was always a threat going forward. If Lauren is ever injured, he could make a real push for the first team.
Phillipe Senderos and Johanne Djourou looked tentative and nervy against Reading’s pacey attack. I think they are both talented defenders, but perhaps need the experience of an older partner such as a Campbell or Toure (not a Cygan).
Kerrea Gilbert made his debut in the unfamiliar role of left-back, and was certainly better than Pascal Cygan in that position. However, I am better than Pascal Cygan in this position. And I have no legs. Gilbert does have a Hoyte-like gait, and good tackling skills. Decent potential.
Sebastian Larsson did well from wide right, sliding in a great pass to help create van Persie’ goal. One thing is sure: he’s much better than Alex Song.
Mathieu Flamini didn’t look any better than Fabrice Muamba. That shows the derth of talent we have available in midfield. The frenchman is not good enough to be our third choice, despite his appetite for work. Muamba, meanwhile, has the talent and the physique, but needs to concentrate on passing the ball to his own team every so often.
Quincy was superb – a constant menace down the left. He’s great in these games where he is the teams key player; the man they turn to on the break – the equivalent of Henry. However, I wonder if there’s room for him in our first eleven. He doesn’t get much defensive work done, and operates in a fairly free role, roaming all accross the pitch. He is very much like a young Lua Lua, but if he can channel his talent in the same way that someone such as Henry has, we could have a very special player on our hands.
Jose Reyes finally got a goal and seemed to regain some confidence. Whilst many ponder over whether he is a striker or a winger, I think Wenger will choose to rotate him between those two positions for some time – he has the potential to play both, so why not exploit it? More goals required though.
That’s not a complaint that can be aimed at Robin van Persie. 8 in 8 for the dutchman, and he’s currently absolutely lethal. Give him the ball from anywhere within 25 yards, and he seems a certainty to score. Just what we’ve been needing.
We’ll probably be saying something similiar about Arturo Lupoli for years to come. The most predatory player in our squad notched another senior goal to wrap up the match. His young strike partner, Niklas Bendtner, got a few minutes at the end, but didn’t have much time to impress.
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It’s Bolton away tomorrow, one of our traditional bogey games. A victory would cap a return to form in some style. Alex Hleb isn’t far away from fitness, but will probably be held back until Ajax on the Wednesday.
Come on Arsenal.
