by Andrew Crawshaw
Since I posted my first thoughts on who might be in our 25 man squad for the coming season there have been a number of changes in terms of players arriving or leaving and I have a few errors to correct. It is also under a week to go till our first game so here goes :-
Firstly a reminder of the rules (Thanks to the Middlesbrough Gazette for an excellent explanation that even a duffer like me can understand).
The squad rules were introduced at the start of the 2010/11 season and limited all clubs to a maximum of 25 players over the age of 21 for that season’s games (with the new age rules for the Premier League 2 I expect that age to be raised to 23 in due course but it hasn’t been changed yet as far as I can establish).
The full squad list has to be submitted within 24 hours of the closure of the transfer window.
There is an ‘exceptional circumstances’ provision in the event of a goalkeeping injury crisis.
Clubs are free to use players not on the list for matches in domestic cup competitions (subject to separate rules of those competitions).
Of the registered squad players no more than 17 can be designated as ‘foreign’ and at least 8 must be registered as ‘homegrown’.
A ‘homegrown player is defined as a player who is
- 21 years or older on January 1 of the year in which that season begins and
- Spent 36 months between the ages of 16 and 21 with a team in the English League system.
The ‘homegrown’ player rule applies irrespective of the nationality of the player.
In addition to the 25 man senior squad a team can play an unlimited number of under 21 players regardless of nationality, providing they have the necessary international clearances.
Here is my list of Arsenal players who were over 21 on 1 January 2016 and who aren’t currently definitely on loan elsewhere (please advise me if I have missed anyone).
| Position | DOB | Homegrown | ||
| 1 | Aaron Ramsey | Mid | 26 Dec 1990 | Y |
| 2 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | Mid | 15 Aug 1993 | Y |
| 3 | Carl Jenkinson | RB | 8 Feb 1992 | Y |
| 4 | Danny Welbeck | Forward | 26 Nov 1990 | Y |
| 5 | Emiliano Martinez | GK | 2 Sep 1992 | Y |
| 6 | Francis Coquelin | DM | 13 May 1991 | Y |
| 7 | Jack Wilshere | Mid | 1 Jan 1992 | Y |
| 8 | Kieran Gibbs | LB | 26 Sep 1989 | Y |
| 9 | Matt Macey | GK | 9 Sep 1994 | Y |
| 10 | Theo Walcott | Forward | 16 Mar 1989 | Y |
| 11 | Alexis Sanchez | Forward | 19 Dec 1988 | N |
| 12 | David Ospina | GK | 31 Aug 1988 | N |
| 13 | Gabriel | CB | 26 Nov 1990 | N |
| 14 | Granit Xhaka | CM | 27 Sep 1992 | N |
| 15 | Joel Campbell | Forward | 26 Jun 1992 | N |
| 16 | Laurent Koscielny | CB | 10 Sep 1985 | N |
| 17 | Mathieu Debuchy | RB | 28 Jul 1985 | N |
| 18 | Mesut Özil | Mid | 15 Oct 1988 | N |
| 19 | Mohamed Elneny | Mid | 11 Jul 1992 | N |
| 20 | Nacho Monreal | LB | 26 Feb 1986 | N |
| 21 | Olivier Giroud | Forward | 30 Sep 1986 | N |
| 22 | Per Mertesacker | CB | 29 Sep 1984 | N |
| 23 | Petr Cech | GK | 20 May 1982 | N |
| 24 | Santi Cazorla | Mid | 13 Dec 1984 | N |
| 25 | Yaya Sanogo | Forward | 27 Jan 1993 | N |
I have sorted the list firstly into ‘Homegrown’ and ‘Foreign’, and secondly alphabetically.
In addition to the 25 man list of senior players these are the U21s who I believe are currently part of the current First Team squad
| Position | DOB | ||
| 1 | Alex Iwobi | Forward/MF | 3 May 1996 |
| 2 | Calum Chambers | CB/RB | 20 Jan 1995 |
| 3 | Chuba Akpom | Forward | 9 Oct 1995 |
| 4 | Hector Bellerin | RB | 19 Mar 1995 |
| 5 | Jeff Reine-Adelaide | Mid | 17 Jan 1998 |
| 6 | Rob Holding | CB/RB | 12 Sep 1995 |
| 7 | Serge Gnabry | Forward/MF | 14 Jul 1995 |
So
- At the moment we have more than our required number of ‘Homegrown’ players (10 against a minimum of 8)
- We have exactly 25 senior players so there is no need to sell or loan anyone unless we want to sign any more over 21 players – one in one out.
- Including the players in both lists we seem to have an adequate number of players for each position (you will have your own opinions about their competence/suitability).
- If necessary we could omit Wellbeck (or any other of the long term injured) from our August list if they are not going to play until the end of January as the list has to be re-submitted at the close of the winter transfer window.
Personal Footnote from Tony:
Each time Andrew does this list I’m very grateful, not least because when I’ve tried to do it I always cock it up.
Looking at the 25, in addition to Wellbeck we could also lose Sanogo and Macey – Sanogo simply because he has not been part of the pre-season games since the opening get-togethers, and Macey because although he seems to be an up and coming keeper we already have three in the squad above him.
That gives three places, and although it reduces the home grown list by two, that still keeps us within the legal limit. Given that it would seem unlikely that there will be three signings in this final week of the window, we’ve got nothing to worry about in terms of keeping within the rules, no matter who we want to sign.
The Untold Preview of the Under 18, Under 19, and Under 21 squads.
- Part one – Overview and summary
- Part two – Goalkeepers and defenders
- Part three – Midfield
- Part four – Attackers
- Man City – Arsenal 2-3: Why ref? Why 4 minutes of extra time in a pre season friendly?
- Manchester Airport vs The Arsenal, and that means a lot of talk about INJURIES
- The changes to the loan system, how they relate to the under 23s, and how the Telegraph said “no”.
- Coming soon to a ground near you – Premier League 2
If you have not written to Untold before or have had a post rejected please read our guide on comments
Thanks Andrew.
It strikes me that every fan needs his/her personal football lawyer in order to understand what is permissible and what is not permissible. Who can play and who can not play.
Is there any chance of providing us with the Middlesbrough link?
Again , great job , Andrew . Thanks.
Colario
Just in case Andrew is not on line today, I think the article he used is this one
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/how-premier-league-25-man-11569152
Andrew, you’re missing Takuma Asano from the provisional Squad of 25. However, the indications are that he’ll be loaned out, possibly due to visa issues. Wenger called him “one for the future”.
I agree with Tony re Sanogo and Macey, who have not been involved in any pre-season game. Sanogo is highly likely to go and Macey could either be loaned out or added to the PL2 squad.
Martinez may also be loaned out, as he was last year when we only had Cech and Ospina in the Squad of 25.
I don’t see us keeping Debuchy when Jenkinson recovers from his cruciate injury. We may even let him go this month. That’s based on the fact we loaned him out for the second half of last season and only had one recognised right back (Bellerin). The counter to that is Wenger has used Debuchy throughout pre-season.
Taking into account long term injuries, we certainly do have scope to recruit 3 or 4 non-homegrown players.
Re the U21s, Arsenal have not confirmed that Reine-Adelaide has been promoted to the first team. Admittedly, Arsenal.com is always delinquent at updating player information. Wenger, in a recent interview, said 2 out of 4 youngsters could be promoted.
Thank you for the article. Good to save it at least till the end of the transfer window. We’ll see how it goes.
The fact that Arsene Wenger has not signed a top class CB this window is gross negligence. How anyone can argue otherwise is beyond me.
Robert,
Your post emphasises Arsenal’s poor public relations division.
For far too long the Club has taken a near paranoid secrecy line which has now spread to virtually every aspect of its business.
While one can understand reticence involving players’ transfers, there is no justification in withholding information on a host of other matters of interest to loyal supporters.
Would love to see this analysis done on city especially after this season’s spending spree
Gabriel got injured yesterday and Mertesacker is also injured. That makes it imperative for an experienced CB to be bought. Over to Wenger.
You’re right, nicky. Their coverage of the Academy in particular is atrocious.
Robert & nicky
This is what I’ve recently been complaining about. There is absolutely nowhere to get reliable up to date info on Arsenal. You would expect better from the official .com, so is it any wonder that the bloggettes have such a field day at our expense.
Andrews contributions are very welcome and Arseblog has a go but is usually a day or so behind the unreliable media.
We need to know what’s going on and we need to know now. I think this is a slight misquote, but you know what I mean.
Leon, the best site for U21 info, be it player news or match reports, is Jeorge Bird’s Arsenal Youth. His transfer/loans speculations are remarkably accurate, so much so that I wonder if he has an inside source.
Bad about Gabriel’s injury. I didnt even see how it did happen.
Henri is saying he feels worried for Arsenal v Pool, but i cannot share his worries.
The team that played of Friday had a sort of seamless togetherness,(opposition team weren’t PL but they played like one, loved how Arsenal played to combat that) and even with the changes of players returning, even though not as seamless in this game, it was still pretty good to see how they worked for each other.
I actually thought City looked frustrated with Arsenal and started the usual tactics of fouling early, good the ref clamped down early else there would have been a lot more of it. But still, we did get an injury.
See, not so much of combatting the tackles of City though, but this could be down to better oppposition though i think it was because of team changes.
I feel the team is different, i mean the aura i get from them playing feels good to me. Something has changed within them for the good.
Just to prove me a liar, on Friday the .com put out a news blob that we are extending our partnership with an African betting organisation.
Wow!
Robert,
Regarding Takuma Asano, he isn’t yet included on the official web site as an Arsenal player, or at least if he is I missed him when I looked yesterday.
I did the article yesterday before our game v City and , depending on how serious Gabriel’s injury is, would hope that we will be increasing our efforts to bring in an additional experienced CB.
Colario – I’m sure that the article linked by Tony was the one I referred to.
It was good to see that both Takuma and Serge Gnabry scored again in their Olympics games last night.
Robert,
I rely heavily on Jeorge Bird’s site for my information on the junior players. He is far more up to date than the official .com and I rarely disagree with his analyses of players or matches. I would recommend to all interested in the junior teams to add his site to their favourites.
A plea for help – if there are any readers who were present at any of the U19 games in Durban over the past week and a half would you please think about writing a brief report. Unlike last year when the tournament was pretty well covered by the media I have found it virtually impossible to get any meaningful information this year. I know we won the final by three goals to one with Mavididi scoring twice along with an own goal but that is about it.
Beilik is missing there. Wenger said he will play a part in the coming campaign.
IT seems comprehensive though think debuchy may leave and Jenkinson is injured so might be he may be loaned out too. But there does not seem many omissions how about bielek would be my only comment he has played a lot of pre season minutes too, do you consider home behind holding in first team chances.
Jeorge bird covered it but not in any great depth but it’s about only thing I have seen on that tournament.
rocky, my rough estimate is that Man C have 4 homegrown players: Hart Clichy, Delph and Sterling.
They have 19 non-homegrown players, which means they have to sell/loan 2 of them.
They can’t have a full squad without 8 homegrown players, which may explain why they paid over the odds for Sterling and will do so if they land Stones.
Chelsea may have the same problem.
Man C also have an ageing side, particularly in defence, and two key injury-prone players: Kompany and Aguero.
Andrew, here’s a link to the Club’s announcement on Asano: http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160702/arsenal-agree-deal-for-japan-forward
The First Team page is not a reliable source for the very latest information.
Thanks Andrew. The Middlesbrough Gazette is to be congratulated for this article. It is rare these days that the press provide such detailed and important information.
Well done the Middlesbrough Gazette!
Robert, thanks for that link – I remember the article.
There is a potential ‘sting in the tail’ the article says “The transfer of the 21-year-old Japan international is subject to the completion of a medical and regulatory processes.”
I haven’t seen any confirmation that these have been completed.
Sam Wallace in the Telegraph today predicts we will finish 5th. According to him we only finished 2nd last year because all the other ‘big teams’ underperformed.
Mick,
The Telegraph have an excellent cartoonist and are reasonable in their coverage of Rugby and Cricket. Depending on your political viewpoint you will either agree with or detest their coverage of current affairs. However their football reporting is a complete joke.
There is absolutely no reason at all why we shouldn’t at least match our league position from last year and I look forward to celebrating the end of the season as champions.
COYG
So I have had 8 dislikes to my comment that we should have signed a new CB.
I can only assume that there are a lot of non Arsenal supporters on here then. To any Arsenal supporters who do not think we need to sign a new CB you must be completely deluded and you are actually doing great damage to the club by thinking this.
Top Guns
I doubt that it’s because you suggest we should sign a new CB, but that the inference is that it’s Wengers fault. This site is fiercely loyal to Arsene, and even the slightest criticism gets you a few thumbs down.
I’m not saying I agree, but that it’s just way it is.
Top Guns you are being thumped down because your comment is irrelevant to the article. Second, you are wrong to say Arsenal has not signed a CB because it did sign Holding and promoted Bielik to the senrior team. If the manager thinks these players are good enough for the senior team it means we now have six centre backs. Third, your argument is premised on shifting sand. Those that have been clamouring for CB signing have been arguing that Per, Gabriel, and Chambers are rubbish and not fit to be Arsenal players. These same used to say the same thing about Koscielney. Last season Arsenal had the most cleansheets, conceded 1 more goal than the so called best defensive teams. I further analysis shows that 37% of goals were conceded in 11% of games. In life accidents happen.
If you would want people to thump you up at least make rational arguments.
Last season we played 51 games ( not including 2 League cup ) . Mertesacker played 37 times and Koscielny 44 . As we know Mertesacker has a long term injury since july 22nd and Koscielny has been carrying a recurring injury which necessitates a kid glove approach . We can only now play inexperience , not bad players , but all defences need leadership and they take their lines from the centre back .
Can’t help thinking an experienced centre back has been a requirement since July.
Leon – if we have not signed a CB then yes that is down to Arsene Wenger. I appreciate that this is a pro Wenger site and there are good reasons for this. He does after all get a lot of things right.
However blind loyalty to Wenger is not helpful to him and it is not helpful to the club. He can’t be perfect all the time and on this issue I feel he has made a mistake and as a supporter I feel as though he should be criticised for it.
Yes Top Guns, Wenger is a brilliant manager who has done excellent work for our club. Arsene Wenger is however not perfect. He makes mistakes of omission and commission just like all of us. No one is perfect, not even our great manager Arsene Wenger.
Making a critical comment about anything that Arsene has done or failed to do isn’t a sign of disloyalty.
As for me I think Arsene gets too much unfair criticism. I however don’t think that us genuine fans should always put down fellow genuine fans who have identified one or two errors or omissions by our great manager.
Up Arsenal, Up Arsene..
TG and others………….nobody on UA knows what Wenger has done,is doing or will attempt to do in the transfer market for a striker, a CB or any other position BUT one thing we can be sure of, he is not sitting idly by and ignoring the situation, like some of you amateurs are convinced of. My money is on him currently reviewing all the options available at a reasonable price for both a striker and certainly an experienced CB…where he will find that pair is rather occluded at the moment but rest assured he is not lounging at home and counting his pocket-change!