AFTV News

Five academy stars who could step up this season Hale End has produced some cracking footballers down the years.  Gunners legends such as Liam Brady, Tony Adams, David Rocastle, Ray Parlour, Paul Merson, Ashley Cole and Jack Wilshere have all come through Arsenal’s academy.  And the latest off the conveyer belt, Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka, are shining for club and country, while Folarin Balogun is tearing up trees in the French top-flight for Reims.  But who are the next stars in the making, ready to make the step up to the first team?  Catalin Cirjan  Even after 480 days out with a horrific knee injury, Catalin Cirjan is pushing for an Arsenal debut that is long overdue.  The Romanian midfielder tore his ACL, medial collateral ligament, and meniscus in April 2021 and finally made his return against Swansea for the Under-21s last month.  Before he was injured, he was expected to make his senior debut at the end of the 2020/21 season and sign a ne...

Player Profile: Zach Awe By Oliver Gafsen The eagle-eyed viewer would have noticed 18-year-old Zach Awe replacing Takehiro Tomiyasu on the bench in Arsenal's 1-0 victory at Molineux earlier this month. An academy player breaking into the seniors barely a year after putting pen to his first professional contract speaks to how big an impact Awe has made at Hale End. Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have already demonstrated the class of our graduates in recent years, so here's everything you need to know about Arsenal's next wonderkid. Background The Young Gun was born to Nigerian parents in Greenwich in 2004 – mid-way through our invincibles season. If that doesn't make you feel like one of the old-timers, nothing will. Palace spotted his promise and snatched him from his Sunday league team, but Awe said: "when Arsenal came calling a year later, it was an opportunity we just couldn't turn down." So clearly, the youngster is a big Arsenal fan who feels a gen...

Will Arsenal regret letting Luke Plange leave the club? By Oliver Gafsen It's far from certain Luke Plange would have survived a January transfer purge that left Mikel Arteta struggling to field a futsal team. His 2021 academy transfer to Derby is unlikely to foster the regret of watching Serge Gnabry at Bayern or the bubbling rage of Van Persie at United. However, with Vieira forking out £1million for the young striker who retired Tom Huddleston with a double nutmeg last Thursday, Stan Kroenke may be chucking the cheque book to Josh in years to come. Born in Twickenham, Plange attracted immediate attention from Fulham, Palace and Chelsea, but his heart was on Arsenal, joining the academy aged six for the two hour trip to Hale End. He showed early promise, making his U18 debut at 15 with seven goals in 23 appearances, but was pushed off the ball too easily in the U23s, moving to Pride Park last March on a free. The 19-year-old wasn't deterred, showing his resilience with five g...

Player Profile: Lino Sousa By Jack Lacey-Hatton The latest addition to the Arsenal Academy, Lino Sousa will hope to follow in the footsteps of Ashley Cole, Gael  Clichy and Kieran Tierney to become one of the clubs great modern full-backs. The 17-year-old left-back joined last month and although fans may not know much about him at the moment, hopes are high he can become the latest young starlet to make an impact on the first team. Let’s find out just who is Lino Sousa? And what can Arsenal fans expect from the new signing.   Who is he? Sousa was born in 2005 and until his move to Arsenal had spent his youth career at West Brom. He holds both English and Brazilian citizenship courtesy of his family, although he has represented England at most junior levels so far, including under-15 and under-16. His talent was so obvious to those in the West Brom coaching set-up that he spent the last few years playing two years above his age group. Sousa was also part of the Baggies youth si...

Are Arsenal at risk of losing Bukayo Saka soon? By Jonny Bray Signing better players isn't the only reason why it's crucial Arsenal qualify for the Champions League this year. After two years of carrying this squad, Bukayo Saka is beginning to attract attention from some of England's wealthiest clubs. Manchester City, Liverpool and even Manchester United have been linked with the 20-year-old winger. And you have to think that without Champions League football, the young Gunner will be forced to depart the club to further his career. So are Arsenal at risk of losing Saka sooner rather than later? And if they do, is he replaceable? With the season beginning to draw to a close, keeping Saka could be critical to Mikel Arteta's hopes of rebuilding Arsenal into the force they once were over the coming years. Champions League football Everyone knows how vital Champions League football is to the top players these days. It's tempted better players than Saka away from their h...

What are Arsenal players doing during the winter break? By Jonny Bray Despite the introduction of a 'winter break', Premier League clubs, players and management teams were still all over the news and social media. Players jetted off around the world in search of sun, and while some were out partying, others were training hard in preparation for the resumption of the Premier League. Players such as Ivan Toney, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But Arsenal spent their winter break in Dubai training under Mikel Arteta and preparing themselves for a crucial second half of the season. Arteta's team were based at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, one of the world's most advanced sporting venues. It has previously played host to European giants like Celtic and Manchester United, and there's no doubt the Gunners received some of the best support money can buy during their break. So, let's take a closer look at what Arsenal...

Player profile: Salah Oulad M’Hand By Jonny Bray Salah Oulad M'Hand is an 18-year-old midfielder with a bright future at the Emirates. Despite his incredible potential, he remains a bit of an unknown entity in North London, even though he's already been included in first-team squads this season. He's yet to make his senior first-team debut, but the fact that Mikel Arteta gave him the opportunity to travel with the squad to Leeds and Nottingham Forest indicates that he's firmly in the Spaniard's plans. Oulad M'Hand is part of a very exciting generation of Arsenal academy products, and it's made even more exciting by seeing how well the current crop of academy prospects are doing. With Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka ripping it up for Arsenal while players like Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are doing well at new clubs, there's never been a more exciting time to be coming through the academy in North London. What has his career been like so far? D...

Player Profile: Jordi Osei-Tutu  By Jonny Bray  At just 22 years old, Jordi Osei-Tutu has already experienced a lot in the world of football. He's played for two of England's biggest clubs, perhaps the biggest club in Wales and he's played in Europe. Despite being at the club since 2017, he's yet to make his Arsenal first-team debut but that hasn't stopped the youngster from having an exciting career to date. The full-back from Slough is a London boy through and through and will surely have a big career ahead of him even if it isn't at The Emirates. So, what do you need to know about Arsenal academy graduate Jordi Osei-Tutu? What has his career been like so far? Osei-Tutu's career really got going while on loan at second division German club VfL Bochum 1848 during the 2019-20 season. During his time in Germany, the right-back proved that he has the ability needed to make it in the professional game, even if the level he would be playing at wasn't initial...

Who from the under-21s could make the step into the first-team squad By Jonny Bray Arsenal haven't got a bad record at all with La Masia graduates, and there's every chance they could have another star on their hands here. Arsenal's academy has proven to be a prolific source of talent over the last five years. Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka may be the ones grabbing the headlines, but the sheer number of players challenging for a first-team spot at the Emirates is genuinely astounding. Even players like Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who many say are not good enough to be playing week in and week out for the Gunners, have shown that they are very capable Premier League players. But how long can this rich vein of talent keep flowing for? Some will say that this is just a golden generation and that the chances of Arsenal producing players of this quality for years to come are slim. But that is simply not the case if the amount of talent in the under-21s is anything ...

Is Salah Oulad  M'Hand Arsenal's next big thing? By Jonny Bray Salah Oulad M'Hand was probably the most heralded player in The Netherlands before an unfortunate injury and a reported dispute between his family and former club Feyenoord. Arsenal were able to capitalise on the row, bringing the 18-year-old midfielder to The Emirates back in August 2020. The right-footed youngster has been praised by fans and pundits alike throughout the age-grade levels, but he's experienced a lot of drama for such a young footballer, which can often damage development. However, this season, he's back with a vengeance and has been instrumental in Arsenal Under-23's impressive start to their Premier League 2 Division 1 campaign. There are still questions surrounding the young star; can he carry his talents into the first team, does he have the physicality needed to play in the Premier League, does he have the right mindset? But if his performances so far this season and the record ...

Gabriel Martinelli playing in Arsenal's 2-0 loss against Brentford last Friday Which youngsters deserve a shot against West Brom in the Carabao Cup?  Arsenal’s 2021-22 Premier League campaign began poorly last Friday, with a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Brentford providing a far from the ideal start.  And things don’t get any easier for the Gunners, with a match next Sunday against Chelsea and then a clash against reigning league champions Manchester City the following weekend. However, there is also the matter of next Wednesday’s EFL Cup second round fixture against West Brom to contend with. With less than 72 hours in between that match at The Hawthorns and a 12:30 kickoff at The Etihad the following Saturday, Mikel Arteta will likely rest several key players with a strong league campaign desired by fans and the club.  Most top-flight clubs targeting European places generally use the EFL Cup as a chance to give younger players experience, and Arteta is unlikely to t...

Emile Smith Rowe, 21, playing for Arsenal against Millwall  How Emile Smith Rowe became Arsenal’s No. 10 Very few people expected Emile Smith Rowe to become such an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s plans so quickly when he first broke into Arsena’s first team.   Smith Rowe has, at points, had to play second fiddle to Bukayo Saka. Saka burst on the scene and immediately became one of, if not the, star players for Arsenal, while Smith Rowe took more time to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League.   Many had forgotten about the young academy graduate, assuming Arsenal couldn’t be so lucky as to find two gems in their academy within a couple of years.   However, last season Smith Rowe proved that he has the quality needed to play for Arsenal, and then this summer he proved he has the temperament as well when he turned down a move to Aston Villa in exchange for a new Gunners contract.   That contract came hand in hand with the heralded No.10 jersey, previously...