Eight Observations Arsenal v Leeds: Chaos is Back, An Ian Dury Midfield, the Joy of Holding

68 thoughts on “Eight Observations Arsenal v Leeds: Chaos is Back, An Ian Dury Midfield, the Joy of Holding”

• Nice one TA. OGAAT is the way but also squeaky bum time. The ride is scary and enjoyable at the same time.

• Love it

• Yes Madhu, a tough ride full of hope and nerves. I see the season as already a huge success and the rest as a bonus. Winning the league is so beyond expectations, it’s rediculous. Yet the youngest team of the league is leading it, and these boys are fighting for every ball. Ooh to, ooh to be…

• Sex & drugs & rock & roll indeed.Roberto Holdinho.What more can you say 😉

• Indeed, Total. Always good to be reminded of Ian Dury. I think he was a Chelsea supporter, likely where he got the name for his band…

  “A new project”, sounds intriguing.

  Had some emergency surgery last night to remove a burst appendix. I have a few days of rest in front of me to prepare for Anfield. May the spirit of ’89 prevail.

• Wow Stuart, that was an extremely dangerous situation. I’m so happy that you seem so nonchalant about it – keep well my friend.

  I had the same issue when I was 10 years old – way back then it was considered to be life threatening – I ended up with a few other medical complications and spent 3 months in hospital.

• Here are last weekends results:-
  For the weekend:-

  1st Kev & OX10 with 4/6 plus a share of the most correct predictions = 6 points
  3rd Eris, Madhu, Stuart & GN5 with 3/6 = 3 points
  7th Le Gall with 2/6 = 2 points
  8th Total with 1/6 = 1 point

  “”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  Season to date:-

  1st Kev with 118.80
  2nd Eris with 108.13
  3rd Madhu with 106.80
  4th OX10 with 105.13
  5th Stuart with 101.33
  6th GN5 with 87.33
  7th Total with 81.66
  8th Le Gall with 79.80

  “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

• These are next weekends selections:-

  Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion
  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea *
  Southampton v Manchester City *
  Leeds United v Crystal Palace
  Liverpool v Arsenal
  Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin *

• Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion. A
  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea *0-1
  Southampton v Manchester City * 0-5
  Leeds United v Crystal Palace H
  Liverpool v Arsenal. A
  Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin * 2-0

• Tottenham Hotspur Brighton & Hove Albion A
  Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Chelsea 1
  Southampton 0 Manchester City 4
  Leeds United 2 Crystal Palace 1
  Liverpool Arsenal D
  Borussia Dortmund 3 FC Union Berlin 2

  Get well soon, Stu – no little pain it must have been, mate …
  “I see the season as already a huge success and the rest as a bonus”:
  Amen to that, TA … The boys will have nothing to fear/lose come sunday, they’ll be relaxed, confident – we might be in for a very good surprise indeed
  COYG

• Get well soon, Stu. We are thinking of you mate.

• Thanks for the update, GN5. Who is going to stop the cab man?

• OGAAT Total 😉

  Get well soon Stu…

• Pingback: ≫ El caos ha vuelto, un mediocampo de Ian Dury, la alegría de sostener – Bergkampesque

• Check out this new blog, guys. 🙂

  https://woolwich1886.com/2023/04/03/rivals-roundup-the-wind-that-shakes-the-barley/#more-4308

• ORAAT for you, Kev
  One round/ride… 😋

• Ill drink to that Total, tea of course. 😉

• Tottenham vs Brighton…….Home
  Wolves vs Chelsea……………..Draw (2-2)
  Soton vs Man City……………..Away (1-3)
  Leeds vs C.Palace…………….Home
  Liverpool vs Arsenal….…….Away
  Dortmund vs FC Union…..Home (2-0)

• Arsenal U18 1 (Rosiak) MCity U18 0
  What a dream start
  Contrary to the previous rounds, the lads were 100% focused from the getgo
  Rosiak, Nwaneri had had great touches but the best one was Cozier-Duberry’s who spinned around his defender to deliver a delightful through ball to Benjamin darting in from the left. He was tripped by Samuel, the last defender, who was given his marching orders staright away (which is very harsh tbh, how “educational” is that?)
  Rosiak took the resulting FK and did a Platini-Zico-Messi … so that now we’re one goal and one man up …
  It’s all gonna be about controlling emotions from now on, Jack will have a very important part to play
  COYYG

• HT 1-0
  Everybody at The Arsenal would have signed up for this an hour ago, but the truth is the ref spoiled the party the moment he sent off the City lad
  Looks like Jack has ordered the lad to shift to 5-3-2
  Cooper
  Rosiak-Robinson-Ibrahim-Walters-Sousa
  CozierDuberry-LewisSkelly-Gower
  Nwaneri-Benjamin
  so that we’re now waiting for them to give us opportunities on the break, with Ibrahim playing like a quarterback, hurling long diagonals out to both wings, in the back of defenders pushing on to get the eaqualizer
  Jack has a point, though, because some of their players (Dickson, Ndala, Oboavwoduo, O’Reilly) are truly magnificent. As for Dada-Mascoll in midfield he would physically impress a great many PL counterparts
  Some of our boys are at their best (Lewis-Skelly, Cozier-Duberry, Rosiak), as outstanding as they’ve been since the start of the season. As forNwaneri he put on a 5/6-second Messi-esque show inside the City box around the 40th, this is the first time I’ve thought to myself he might indeed be the real thing
  Gower and Benjamin are (slightly) below par, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kamara – Fredinand were brought on soon
  So come on Young Guns, but you’ll need at least a second, there’s no way this City side will draw a blank

• 1-1
  30-minute-ET
  Despairingly unsurprising scenario – we failed to score the 2nd; they were bound to score at some point, and they did, though a great team move (Oboavwoduo, O’Reilly assist). O’Reilly is a top-class player.
  Nwaneri has faded away, Ferdinand (if fit, I think he was injured lately) needs to be brought on
  COYYG

• They’ve done it – again
  Arsenal U18 2 – MCity U18 1
  Lewis-Skelly got the winner, none deserved it more than him, this young man has the brightest of future ahead of him, I keep thinking of Edgar Davids each time I see him play
  Not only has this team talent to spare, but they have a soul too – which is the unmissable young manager’s touch, well done Jack
  On to the final now, the Hammers aree the favourite of the other semi, they have a formidable side too
  What a night, COYG

• Cheers Legall. Great to read how much you enjoyed that game. 🙂 🔆

• Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion A
  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea * 0-0
  Southampton v Manchester City * 0-3
  Leeds United v Crystal Palace A
  Liverpool v Arsenal A
  Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin * 2-0

• Great result for the Young guns. I would have to question though if Extra time is a bit too much for such young bodies. Mind you Man C was reduced to 10 men as well. Not sure playing 120 mins affects a growing body.

• I saw some highlights, about 17 minutes worth, Arsenal really had enough opportunities to have the game safe before City equalised, I wonder how many of the City lads were signed from other Academies as we did with Sousa, hard not to notice how much bigger the City boys were, seems as if the City academy targets 6 footers even when they’re 16 or 17, although I’d imagine that the City boys were all pushing 18.
  Nwaneri is 15 and Lewis Skel,y 16 so let’s see which academy develops it’s boys and which academy sells theirs?

• Great result. Anywhere I can get the highlights boys?

  Thanks GN5
  Tottenham vs Brighton. A
  Wolves vs Chelsea 1-1
  Southampton vs Man City. 0-3
  Leeds vs Palace D
  Liverpool vs Arsenal. A
  Dortmund vs FC Union. 2-0

• Just caught the highlights. City did well with 10 men and I thought their keeper let them down on both goals. But take nothing from Jacks lads. Fabulous season for the club.

• I was thinking about that, too, Madhu
  In “my” days, at that age we didn’t go to ET; so when the final whistle blew yesterday, I thought maybe two 40-minute halves (which was the rule in France when I was 15-16), plus two 10-minute ET halves would be more sensible
  Having said that, City’s Lewis who was eligible to play yesterday has had plenty of first-team football already, and Cozier-Duberry at least would have deserved to get some minutes in one of our three “grown-up” cups too, so that’s the level of demand their young bodies are supposed to be able to take, or so it seems.
  I guess the medical teams who work for the academies would make “my” days look like the Middle Ages, or even prehistoric times though, if someone were to tell such a story to our young heroes, but then again, I agree with you, you have to wonder about the toll that might be taken at some point on these kids’ health …
  The obvious physical superiority of the City lads is what makes yesterday’s performance so exhilarating imo, Kev. Things were leveled out a little when Samuel was sent off, and Okeke taken out for tactical reasons, and of course because the City boys had to run more, being one-man down for 120 minutes.
  But our boys’ start was absolutely brilliant, and I’d have been very curious to see how things would have turned out without that incident.
  There are proper ball players in that Arsenal team … Cooper, Rosiak, LewisSkelly, CozierDuberry, Nwaneri, Benjamin may not look as impressive as their City counterparts, but their skills, brains, mental fortitude, look much more promising to me than all the wins City got because they just trampled their young opponents under foot (even though some of them, as I said yesterday, are blessed with no little footballing talent too)

• TA, I loved the Holding-Nketiah analogy.

  Le Gall, I’ve seen the second half and the extra time live. It was sometimes entertaining, sometimes infuriating, sometimes boring. (I don’t know how harsh the red card was, but Wright could have been easily sent of as well in the 65th minute.) The parallel is obvious with our first team (of the previous seasons): the boys struggle to translate ball possession into chance creation, and the decision whether dribbling, passing or shooting is often imperfect.
  There is limited value in ‘what if’ scenarios, but I suspect we wouldn’t have a chance playing the entire game against a 11-men Manchester City U18. However history doesn’t remember who deserved more to go through, but rather who did prevail in the end, so I’m all for a similar combination of work, will and luck in the final.

  Let’s hope Nwaneri’s injury heals overnight. And I kind of root to Southampton, as – based on solely the league performance in the PL U18 South – they are on par with our boys, while West Ham collected more points than both teams combined and sits on the top of the division by a 12-points lead. Both Southampton (1:2) and West Ham (1:4) defeated our academy at Colney, but firstly it’s a cliché yet true that anything can happen in a single game (final), and the Emirates with 15.00 home supporters ain’t Colney either.

• I mean 15.000, or maybe even more.

• Hmmm, they’ve scored 18 in 5, these boys, P., so I’m not sure about your possession-creation comment.
  On the other hand, had their RB not been sent off, we’d have had an Everest to climb, I agree with you. It’s likely their strength and pace would have been very difficult for our lads to keep up with for 90 minutes.
  Having said that, as you pointed out, the ref made up for his first decision by handing out a yellow only to Wright, and when I watched their U19s against Split in the Youth League, they had one CB sent off too. So few numbers have little statistical value, but there might be a flaw in the way they’re developed, some kind of balance to be found between making them confident, of course, but keeping them humble enough too, in order for them not to lose it as soon as their opponents put up a real fight, and things don’t go their way??

• I guess LeG that the City 1st team are just better at fouling and just doing enough to get a yellow.

• TA, GJ9 sure brings chaos and that’s something we could have used in some of those games where the opponents played against us with banks of 4, or in a low block. That bit of unpredictability can be unnerving when defending as a group.

  As for that Martinelli assist, I am not too sure if he meant it for Ben White; if he did, good on him because if there is one thing you criticize in his game, it is his head-down attacking style. If he looks up more, he will have bucket loads of assists.

  Sex, drugs and rock and roll! Apt analogy. OGAAT it is. Whatever happens, we would have out-performed expectations for this season, if we are being honest.

• Do, get well quick Stuart. Sorry about that situation; I can only imagine the pain.

  Nice win for the U-18s; Jack is putting his mark on the team, methinks.

• These are my predictions for next weekend’s selections:-

  Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion H
  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea * D (1-1)
  Southampton v Manchester City * A (2-4)
  Leeds United v Crystal Palace D
  Liverpool v Arsenal A
  Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin * H (2-1)

• Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion D
  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea * A (1-2)
  Southampton v Manchester City * D (2-2)
  Leeds United v Crystal Palace H
  Liverpool v Arsenal A
  Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin * D (1-1)

• Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion D
  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea * A 1-3
  Southampton v Manchester City * 1-1
  Leeds United v Crystal Palace H
  Liverpool v Arsenal D
  Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin * 1-1

• Yes Eris, Martinelli is not a natural assist maker, yet I think he mean it. It looked like one from the training ground as White was expecting it. It was a peach of a ball by young Gabby. 🙂

• Thanks Eris. Coming right, mate.

  Found time for some reading. This is a great story: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65116702
  ‘Gigi’ Lentini. I remember him and those days well.

• Just watched West Ham v Newcastle. That is some squad Howe and Saudi money has built. We’ll have a game on our hands up there.
  Watched Liverpool yesterday. If they play like that on Sunday we will wipe the floor with them.

• Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly is deciding games and doing ‘things you can’t coach’
  Art de Roché
  The roar inside Emirates Stadium when Myles Lewis-Skelly rose highest in the last minute of extra time to put Arsenal Under-18s 2-1 up against Manchester City and into the FA Youth Cup final is what most will remember.

  The collective gasp that came when he trapped a fizzed ball under pressure in midfield and played it in behind minutes earlier is what should stick, however.

  By that point, players from both teams had been grounded by cramp. In Lewis-Skelly’s case, he was not just able to speed up the game when Arsenal needed with his technical ability, but ready to decide it with a decisive off-ball run and header.

  “You say under my guidance, but Myles has been at the club since he was nine and I’ve been here a year,” under-18s head coach Jack Wilshere said when the midfielder was mentioned post-match.

  “Coaches from Hale End and my assistant (Adam Birchall), who has coached him year-in and year-out, deserve massive credit. Him (Lewis-Skelly) and Ethan Nwaneri, what they do at 16… let’s remember Ethan and Myles are a bit younger and how they’re able to dominate, manage moments in a game and drive a team is impressive.”

  Lewis-Skelly has been on the radar at Arsenal for some time. He made his under-18s debut at 14 in the same game as Nwaneri and scored, just like his team-mate did.

  The club have an agreement in place for him to sign scholarship terms before becoming eligible for a professional contract when he turns 17 on September 26, as revealed by The Athletic in February.

  All 15 players who got onto the pitch in the 120 minutes against Manchester City did their part. Michal Rosiak and Lino Sousa played pivotal roles as full-backs, captain Bradley Ibrahim was instrumental at the base of midfield and Amario Cozier-Duberry threatened from the right wing — but captivation could be sensed whenever Lewis-Skelly was on the ball.

  Wilshere reiterated his statement, that the 16-year-old can “do things you can’t coach”, from the quarter-final win over Cambridge United, and that was demonstrated throughout the game. The first moment that increased the decibels inside the Emirates came in the opening minutes when the player’s quick burst of acceleration on the edge of the box left a marker on the ground. More came when Lewis-Skelly’s quick feet in tight spaces got him out of tricky situations and put Arsenal into promising ones within seconds.

  The England Under-17 international featured on the right of a midfield three for the entirety of the victory. It is one of many interesting points in his continuing development, as sometimes he operates more as a No 6 for the under-18s. He has also filled in at left-back for the under-21s this season.

• sensed whenever Lewis-Skelly was on the ball.

  Wilshere reiterated his statement, that the 16-year-old can “do things you can’t coach”, from the quarter-final win over Cambridge United, and that was demonstrated throughout the game. The first moment that increased the decibels inside the Emirates came in the opening minutes when the player’s quick burst of acceleration on the edge of the box left a marker on the ground. More came when Lewis-Skelly’s quick feet in tight spaces got him out of tricky situations and put Arsenal into promising ones within seconds.

  The England Under-17 international featured on the right of a midfield three for the entirety of the victory. It is one of many interesting points in his continuing development, as sometimes he operates more as a No 6 for the under-18s. He has also filled in at left-back for the under-21s this season.

  Myles Lewis-Skelly breaks past Michael Okeke of Manchester City during the FA Youth Cup semi-final (Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
  “I don’t think he’ll be a left-back; he’ll be a midfielder. But if we give him a little bit of everything (it will help),” Wilshere added. “It’s important for him. You look at our first team and the way football’s going with players like Oleksandr Zinchenko, the full-back has to be able to play inside.”

  “As they get older, we need to nail a certain position for them and make it specific in terms of what’s expected from the first team and what that role is, but we have to give them challenges,” under-21s head coach Mehmet Ali told The Athletic after using Lewis-Skelly at left-back in January.

  “A good footballer can play anywhere on the pitch. You look at some of our first-team players like Bukayo Saka; they don’t always break through playing as a right winger, it might be as a left-back or a centre-forward playing off the sides. They have to be tactically flexible, technically excellent and adaptable to play for Mikel (Arteta).”

  The teenager has been involved with Arteta’s first team. He was part of the squads for the mid-season friendlies in Dubai, made a cameo against Lyon and continued to train with the first team at the turn of the year.

  Patience will be paramount, however. Given the speed Arsenal’s first team has been injected with youth — Saka (21), Gabriel Martinelli (21), Emile Smith Rowe (22), Folarin Balogun (21), William Saliba (22) — it can be easy to forget just how young these players are. For all the talk around first-team pathways, these are incredibly early days for Lewis-Skelly and his team-mates.

  Wilshere, who made his Arsenal debut aged 16 years and 256 days, is well aware of that and insists his match-winner is too.

  “We give him the tools he needs to develop, but you see certain moments that are not coachable. Certain players can’t do that, only certain players can but there’s much more that comes with it like how he lives,” the 31-year-old said.

  “He’s a top kid but he has to manage that going forward when he gets a bit more attention. He comes from a great family which is massive, and I know that they’ll steer his journey and be present throughout that, a bit like me with my dad and family. That’s so important.”

  That excitement was not just felt by Wilshere and those in the stands, but in the club-level seats too.

  As they walked off the pitch after their celebrations, the players were applauded by academy manager Per Mertesacker, who sat just above the tunnel.

  Lewis-Skelly and his team-mates reciprocated that applause before being met in the changing rooms by Mertesacker and Aaron Ramsdale — another symbol of the growing bond between all factions of the club as they prepare to host the FA Youth Cup final against either West Ham or Southampton at Emirates Stadium at the end of the month.

  (Top photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

• Arsenal winger Amario Cozier-Duberry — who reminds Jack Wilshere of Bukayo Saka
  Art de Roché
  Hop onto the Victoria Tube line towards Walthamstow Central from Finsbury Park near the Emirates Stadium. Take two stops to Tottenham Hale and a five-minute stroll along the main road until you reach a patch of green. Tucked in the corner of the park, which has the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and scaffolded tower blocks as its backdrop, is an artificial turf pitch rented by youth club Chettle Court Rangers.

• The 17-year-old has starred mostly for Arsenal’s under-21s this season but has been crucial in the under-18s’ FA Youth Cup semi-final run, scoring in every round to set up a date with Manchester City at Emirates tonight, less than half an hour from his grassroots club.

  “Amario came into the system really late,” under-21s head coach Mehmet Ali tells The Athletic. “He didn’t sign for Arsenal until he was an under-15, so he was playing grassroots football for a long time.

  “I see him as a late developer. Even though we’re pushing him in under-21s football, he’s had a great games programme of playing under-18s and being around the first team. He’s a super talent.”

  That ability has come to the fore this season. He has five goals and four assists in 19 games for Ali’s under-21s, five goals and two assists in five matches for Jack Wilshere’s under-18s and impressed in mid-season friendlies before being named on the bench in four league games for Mikel Arteta’s first team. Ali often talks about his players’ “super-strengths”, which are clear in Cozier-Duberry.

  “His super-strengths are his ball-carrying and ability to take people on. He’s an exciting footballer, but (has) loads to learn,” he says.

  “Amario is very exciting and Mikel likes him,” Wilshere adds. “He reminds me of Bukayo Saka, plays in the same position as him, needs to get better with his decision-making like Bukayo did, but he’s definitely exciting.

  “In some moments he’s unplayable. You give him the ball and he can make things happen. You can set up a team and have a game plan, but when you’ve got individuals like that you’ve got a chance.”
  The 17-year-old has starred mostly for Arsenal’s under-21s this season but has been crucial in the under-18s’ FA Youth Cup semi-final run, scoring in every round to set up a date with Manchester City at Emirates tonight, less than half an hour from his grassroots club.

  “Amario came into the system really late,” under-21s head coach Mehmet Ali tells The Athletic. “He didn’t sign for Arsenal until he was an under-15, so he was playing grassroots football for a long time.

  “I see him as a late developer. Even though we’re pushing him in under-21s football, he’s had a great games programme of playing under-18s and being around the first team. He’s a super talent.”

  That ability has come to the fore this season. He has five goals and four assists in 19 games for Ali’s under-21s, five goals and two assists in five matches for Jack Wilshere’s under-18s and impressed in mid-season friendlies before being named on the bench in four league games for Mikel Arteta’s first team. Ali often talks about his players’ “super-strengths”, which are clear in Cozier-Duberry.

  “His super-strengths are his ball-carrying and ability to take people on. He’s an exciting footballer, but (has) loads to learn,” he says.

  “Amario is very exciting and Mikel likes him,” Wilshere adds. “He reminds me of Bukayo Saka, plays in the same position as him, needs to get better with his decision-making like Bukayo did, but he’s definitely exciting.

  “In some moments he’s unplayable. You give him the ball and he can make things happen. You can set up a team and have a game plan, but when you’ve got individuals like that you’ve got a chance.”

• Even though most are getting their first glimpses of his ability they had been bubbling for a while in the streets of north London.

  “I was surprised he was still playing at this level,” Chettle Court Rangers founder Nsasa Mfuka tells The Athletic. “Clubs were saying he was too short or not good enough but I knew there had to be something on the table, it was just a matter of time.”

  The winger joined Chettle Court Rangers as an eight-year-old. He lived minutes from their rented training venue and wanted to have fun, rather than looking to become a professional footballer. Although it was obvious his left foot was special, he was used across the pitch from the wings and up front to across the back line.

  He routinely came up against older players. It was this, alongside his unique talents, that built up to the standout moment that made Mfuka realise he was destined for more.

  “One tournament, we played at Brighton, he stood out from everyone — even from the top London teams. What we saw from him that day was unbelievable, you could see this boy needs to move on,” Mfuka adds.

  “He would lose the ball and just fight to get it back straight away. His speed in one-v-ones, scoring goals, making the right passes and his energy was 100 per cent above other players. They may have been better than him technically, but his energy levels were out of this world.

  “For a short, skinny guy he had very good balance. The important thing was he knew how to win, he wouldn’t let his guard down. Big or small, he’ll let you know ‘I’m the boss’, he didn’t have the fear most kids had.

  “When he played in that tournament a lot of teams were after him but as a club, we told him to go to Arsenal.”

  Arsenal’s persistence as well as the good relationship Mfuka had with their scouts is what worked in their favour.

  Cozier-Duberry was also a boyhood Arsenal supporter despite growing up in Tottenham territory. There were nerves when he arrived at Hale End’s exceptional facilities for his 10-week trial straight from grassroots as a result. By comparison, Chettle Court Rangers’ training equipment is kept in a storage unit beside their rented artificial turf pitch. His nerves soon eased before a right-footed strike against Colchester United in the Floodlit Cup confirmed Arsenal would take him on.

• There are pros and cons of coming into an academy system late,” Ali adds. “Some of the pros are you’re fresh and bright-eyed so you don’t become institutionalised too early. He would have loads of repetition and actions of beating players at grassroots football, which is what his super strength is.

  “Some of the cons could be the intensity and physicality of playing academy football from a young age makes you robust, so we need to support him with that.

  “He’s got great role models like Bukayo Saka, Fabio Vieira and Gabi Martinelli that he can learn a lot from. He’s got to find a way of gaining that football arrogance to help him play at the top level.”

  That sense of someone who had not been ‘institutionalised’ was on display when Cozier-Duberry was brought on against Juventus at Emirates Stadium in December. Arteta put him onto the left wing where he impressed with his ability to keep possession but also take his man on to break into the box and cross.

  The 17-year-old’s temperament will be just as encouraging for Arsenal as his quality on the pitch.

  “He’s top,” Wilshere says. “We barely see him because he’s with the first-team training and Under-21s and rightly so because he deserves it. He has the humility to come back here, and by the way he’s the nicest kid and the quietest kid, but he’s with the first team.

  “He reminds me of Saka with how humble he is. That’s the best way to explain his character. I think about my time here last year, when I was part of the youth cups with Max Porter and Dan Micciche, they pulled players back and it didn’t quite work. Bad nights can happen, we were 2-0 down at half time and people can look at players coming down and think, ‘He didn’t want to be there’. With this group, Amario, Reuell Walters and Lino Sousa being some of them, they’ve all been top if you ask them to come back and play.”

  That is how Cozier-Duberry has maintained the form that got him minutes under Arteta.

  Since the New Year, he has started in every round of the Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup run, scoring five goals and assisting two, starring in the quarter-final win over Cambridge United.

  The influence has been felt back where he started. “You just want to be like him. If you’ve come from the same club, you just think to yourself that you could be like him. Make others and yourself proud and show everyone the club you came from and who did it for you,” says 14-year-old Shekinah Blanchard, who trained against Cozier-Duberry and is still at Chettle Court Rangers.

  From the green patch near the tower blocks to the towering stands of the Emirates, Cozier-Duberry’s rapid rise continues.

• Wow wonderful reading about our academy players. Thanks Kev, Legall and PB for the titbits. It’s a big 2 months for Arsenal with Men’s team chasing the title, women in for possibly 3 more trophies with Conti cup already in the bag and now U18s in the cup final. Long may it continue.

• “The Athletic” might sue TA for this post, but thanks a lot, Kev, anyway …
  I like the mention of the delicate balance to be found between letting kids reap the benefits of playing ‘grassroots football’, and /or ‘institutionalising’ them sooner. It looks like the club is giving serious thoughts to this, and rightly so.
  Players with such a profile bring you unpredictability/unreadability (the “chaos” in TA’s post). It’s an essential item in the best South-American players/forwards’ tool box indeed, and the way GJ9 toyed with Leeds’s defenders in their box, to finally get his pen, was the perfect example of it.
  (off-topic, but London-related):
  I watched an excellent programme yesterday about Alice Diamond and her Elephant-and-Castle 40 thieves.
  Never heard of ’em before … so much for late 19th-early 20th women’s submissiveness/helplessness

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Diamond

• A tough choice boys…

  https://team-picker.files.bbci.co.uk/combined-liverpool-arsenal-team-4fa1c26441e1ce072af9675a11bbaf0b.html

• Allison had a sniff, but the only position I had any real trouble with was Trossard or Martinelli…

• Lol, Stuart. I saw what you did there. What I’d like to see is your combined subs /bench. 😀

• No place for the OX, Stu?! 😁

• Your pick looks like an undisputable truth to me, Stu.
  Or should I say … a Revelation?
  No doubt Pb will rely heavily on it for his preview

• Kev, thanks for introducing me to Alice Diamond. Absolutely fascinating.

  Stu, I love your ‘combined’ team!

• Ray Parlour has a slightly different view of the combined team…..
  https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ray-parlour-picks-arsenal-liverpool-26651835

  Even this shows just how far our team has come, compared to this Liverpool side, as demonstrated by the league table. However, I shall admonish humility and focus because, at Anfield, Liverpool can be a very dangerous side with good motivation for the 3 points. Feet on the ground, boys.

• It’s not to be forgotten that the Liverpool supporters are one of the best home crowds in the UK and they drive the tram on—-

  It’s up to Arsenal to score early on to keep the crowd out of the game.

• Yes, Kev, really interesting stuff on A.D. Feisty, to say the least. We have a young woman in our church who is a top NZ Boxer and could quite easily (with just technique) knock a man down.

  Eris, I’d disagree with our beloved Ray, on form at least. But, I agree with your “feet on the ground” call. Anfield is Anfield and LFC have done really well at home this season.

  I was so disappointed with the thousands of West Ham “fans” deserting their team late on in the thrashing by Newcastle. I understand disappointment, mid week evening kick offs and tube congestion all play a part but who among us would do such a thing? I remember leaving Highbury once with a couple of minutes to go (we were winning and I had an early start the next morning), but I still feel a twinge of guilt about it now. Confession is good for the soul…

  A blessed Easter, boys. Thanks to you all for your very enjoyable friendship.

• Dear Gooners, hope we get a good Jesus meme as he raises to perform against pool and get us the victory. Happy Easter and a long weekend to everyone.

• Great articles posted, thanks.
  I remember seeing Duberry for a few minutes and being impressed.. now we only hear great things about him. More to look forward to along with Patino.

• London, 1984:
  
  The whole suite:

  Rumour has it that’s both Thiago and Luis Diaz who are supposed to “rise again” on sunday, actually … Their midfield has been a complete mess lately, so Thiago’s likely (?) return is the more worrying, imo.
  COYG

• It’ll certainly be interesting if our best youngsters develop fully how Mikel Arteta integrates the likes of Balogun, Patino, Lewis-Skelly, Ibrahim, Cozier Duberry and Co into the squad over the next couple of seasons. Many thought that both Martinelli and Saliba were being sidelined by the manager but when they were ready he brought them in and look at them now. Hutchinson wasn’t prepared to wait regardless of the Chelsea silver and maybe Nwaneri will go down the same avenue, that’s up to them…

• From the club website, an excerpt on the match official(s):

  Paul Tierney is the man in the middle for this encounter, who has overseen two of our three league defeats this term – the losses at Manchester United and Manchester City.

  In fact, we have lost each of the last five games he has taken charge of, after defeats last season to Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Tottenham. Meanwhile, of the five Liverpool appointments he has had this term, the Reds have won just twice under his watch.

  Referee: Paul Tierney
  Assistant Referee 1: Constantine Hatzidakis
  Assistant Referee 2: Scott Ledger
  Fourth Official: Craig Pawson
  VAR: Chris Kavanagh
  Assistant VAR: Adam Nunn.

  Make of that whatever you will. I believe we are above Liverpool and top of the league for a reason and that we have to show today.

• Thanks Eris.

  It’s the big test today. I am waiting for a possible match preview by our Hungarian top analysist, but if it’s not in by 1300 hours I will quickly pen something down. 🙂

• It’s coming. Should be in your mailbox already.

• Actually, Eris, the club website is slightly wrong.
  Paul Tierney has not overseen two of our three league defeats this term. He did officiate the defeat at Manchester United, but during our earlier Etihad defeat Anthony Taylor (another one with the same questionable quality) was the referee. The loss under Tierney mentioned on the website against Manchester City happened in the FA Cup in late January.
  Not that it holds any significance, though…

• New Post 🙂