By Tony Attwood
After each transfer window I like to try and wrap things up with the publication of Arsenal’s list of 25 players registered with the Premier League and then separate them into home grown and foreign grown.
But this year there is something fishy. For example Jeorge Bird, who is normally 100% reliable on such matters has said, “There are ten homegrown players on Arsenal’s senior list – Hector Bellerin, Bramall, Rob Holding, Iliev, Alex Iwobi, Carl Jenkinson, Emiliano Martinez, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck.” You’ll have noticed that the ten is actually nine.
OK you will say, I am just being picky, everyone can make a slight slip just once, and as a person who makes a dozen slips a day (and that’s on a good day) I agree. But then take a look at the Arsenal list that appears on the official Premier League site for home growns…
As always they list the HGs with an asterisk, and this is a cut and paste direct from the official site, with me just adding the numbers to help me make my point…
Squad Players home grown.
- Bellerin, Hector*
- Holding, Robert Samuel*
- Iliev, Deyan*
- Iwobi, Alex*
- Jenkinson, Carl Daniel*
- Martinez, Damian Emiliano*
- Ramsey, Aaron James*
- Welbeck, Daniel*
Yep that is eight. So what has happened? Here is the rest of the official list
Squad players (Foreign cultivated)
- Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick
- Bramall, Cohen
- Cech, Petr
- Elneny, Mohamed Naser Elsayed
- Kolasinac, Sead
- Koscielny, Laurent
- Lacazette, Alexandre
- Leno, Bernd
- Lichtsteiner, Stephan
- Mkhitaryan, Henrikh
- Monreal, Ignacio
- Mustafi, Shkodran
- Ozil, Mesut
- Papastathopoulos, Sokratis
- Torreira, Lucas
- Xhaka, Granit
The problem, or at least part of the problem is that Cohen Bramall is listed as foreign. But here is what Wiki says of him:
“Cohen Bramall (born 2 April 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Premier League club Arsenal.” So, no question about where he did his training – Wiki say, as I have always understood, that the guy is English.
Here is more on him…
“Bramall was born in Crewe, Cheshire. He began his career in non-League football in his local area, with Kidsgrove Athletic, Alsager Town, Nantwich Town, Market Drayton Town – with whom he won the 2015–16 Shropshire Premier Cup in his second spell at the club – and Newcastle Town. In May 2016, he moved to Northern Premier League Premier Division club Hednesford Town.”
Now the last time I looked, although Crewe seemed a bit of an odd place, full of railway lines and known for some deeply worrying allegations about child sex abuse in its football club, and a lack of proper investigation thereof, but it is in England.
Perhaps these are just mistakes – but if so a bit unfortunate on what is the official record of who can play and who can’t.
As always we have players who are not listed as they are under 21 on the qualifying date and clearly part of the first team squad: Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Konstantinos Mavropanos are the stand out names.
And we have players out on loan and thus not listed.
- David Ospina, Calum Chambers, Takuma Asano and Matt Macey.
Here are the total number of players in the main list for the top six clubs of last season showing the number of home growns in brackets.
- Arsenal 24 (8), Chelsea 25 (9), Liverpool 23 (7), Manchester City 21 (4), Manchester United 24 (10), Tottenham Nomads 24 (7).
The Manchester City list is interesting – the reason they have only 21 players is because of their shortage of home growns in the squad. If they wanted to add any more they would all have to be home grown. In a squad of 25 players only 18 can be foreign.
It is interesting that in the past a lot of fuss was made about all of Arsenal’s foreign players, but now that Man City are operating with a mostly foreign team, no one seems to be complaining. I am sure there is a good reason for this.
Here is the full list of Arsenal’s under 21s – some are scholars some are on contract.
Alebiousu, Ryan
Amaechi, Xavier Casmier
Ballard, Daniel George
Balogun, Folarin Jerry
Barden, Daniel
Bielik, Krystian
Bola, Tolaji
Burton, Robert
Clarke, Harrison Thomas
Cottrell, Ben
Coyle, Trae
Daley-Campbell, Vontae
Dennis, Matthew
Flaherty, Stanley James
Gilmour, Charlie Ian
Greenwood, Sam
Guendouzi, Matteo
Hein, Karl Jakob
John-Jules, Tyreece Romayo
Lopez Salguero, Joel
Maitland-Niles, Ainsley
Martin, Joshua
Matthews, Alfie
Mavropanos, Konstantinos
McEneff, Jordan John
McGuinness, Mark James
Medley, Zechariah Joshua Henry
Nelson, Reiss
Nketiah, Edward
Nwakali, Kelechi
Okonkwo, Arthur
Olayinka, Olujimi James Ayodele
Olowu, Joseph Olugbenga
Omole, Tobi
Osei-Tutu, Jordi
Pleguezuelo, Julio Jose
Saka, Bukayo
Sheaf, Ben
Smith Rowe, Emile
Smith, Matthew Gerrard
Smith, Tom
Spencer-Adams, Bayli Alexander
Swanson, Zak
Thompson, Dominic
Tormey, Nathan Alexander
Willock, Joseph George
Zelalem, Gedion
So, I think that is right, but if the official league is going to start making mistakes, what chance have I got?
- Did Wenger lack the nerve to play Aubamayang and Lacazette together?
- How fake news took over football journalism – and it is about to get far worse
- How much does the League title cost, and what power do mere supporters have?
Indeed the Cohen Bramall situation is curious. I suspect the most likely explanation is a simple error. An alternative is that the club lacks evidence of his three years of registration at clubs before the age of 21.
The home grown rule is about player training not nationality (hence Bellerin Martinez etc.). So I who have never been registered at a FA club but have lived in the Uk all my life, would not be regarded as home grown – in the extremely unlikely event of a team wanting to register me.
I will like to believe Arsenal know what they are doing by their not including Cohen Bramall among their home grown list of players. Otherwise, if it’s an error, it is an unpardonable one deserving a reprimand for whoever is responsible for excluding him from the list. Whereas, from all indications he should be on the list for he’s being an English man born in England, live in England, worked in England and played football at many local football clubs in England before joining the professional Premier League club side – Arsenal.
Tony
“In a squad of 25 players only 18 can be foreign.”
It’s actually 17
A “Home-Grown Player” means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).
This is the official definition of “home grown” that is on the PL Website. I can only guess that Mad Eye is probably correct and that some of Cohen’s early clubs weren’t affiliated to the FA. I believe he was a relatively late convert to football from athletics and certainly wasn’t in an academy with one of the league clubs. To be certain I would have to check the affiliation details of all his early clubs but I’m sure that Arsenal have already done this. I’ll make a manual entry in my master spreadsheet to replace the “if” statement that automatically generates the result.
@Mike T – you are quite correct a maximum of 17 non home-grown players are allowed in the squad. Hence Tony’s comment on the 21 players in the City squad.
Yes, ME, I think Eric Dier is not listed as a HG even if he is a regular member of England squad. He spent his training years in Portugal.
apologied for this, but I started and couldn’t find anywhere to get off!!
….
Not only are all other clubs’ reliance upon foreign imports not criticised, but there remains an underlying festering effluence of suggestion that all of it is Arsenals fault for gaining success from it, and so setting the trail for others to follow.
This would be the product of unilateral Media attacks as have been well discussed on articles on other topics recently.
What I don’t understand is….. why are we pilloried by the media? Why do Arsenal polarise opinion quite so much more than other clubs??
apart from the Nomads.. hoho,one of my faves, and the Scum, I don’t really care what other clubs do unless they play us. but arsenal is the team evweryone loves to hate/knock. and we’ve not even been up on a pedestal for 15 years.
The n9mads bit 8s funny! Interesting commission hey! Especially at our one identifiable weak spot, CB being the other. So Swiss off, let’s hope they four attacks stay fit.
Do you know nobody in the first 11 I follow, baring in mind I follow most of the team. Follows Unai.
Most of the top talent follow Torreira though.
I honestly don’t think they like him or his tactics that much an that just deepens the I’ll feeling about the departure of Arsene which is surely festering. RAMBO had never ever been like this before, it’s an important contract but he usually underlines his desire to stay etc.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45425712
I thought this little article added substance to my suggestion. No deal, well you’re alright I’ve had to adjust my post brexit plans based on being robbed.
But it does add fule tp that fire inside. With the Novixhok duo being identified with pictures in the media and labelled military covert operatives. It would sound dodgey, unless it sounded exactly tight. With the location, tracking the artisans would have been easy and this is the only way to increase pressure on a seemingly increasingly bold and seemingly maddening Russian premier, this is that megalomaniac lose that despite strike before some major military action.
With the noise seemingly tightening around the neck of trump. Patience. They need a decision by November. And they won’t have much time to tweet 9t before Jan. Wh9ch means that likely May will have to step down. Corbyn will win by default and the conservatives will rally with an increasingly effective suns bench of younger less partisan members. SNP will push for devolution , cranking up the pressure on the prospect of no deal and the otosh and Welsh will call everything could. There is no workable deal that mimics the current benefits.
We are headed for a second referendum.
On which not we can consider that both Labour and the SNP have larger memberships even after the defunked UKIP.
With the polls giving remain a significant 10 point margin overseen by a respected professor of a respected university.
Meanwhile The FA announce trials of 15 matches with VAR to implement it next season. All 3pm kick off so no live coverage, which has been the case with removing th footage of controversial decisions.
And Spurs are now going to dcuooer the sale of Wembley whilst pocketing money for the government and themselves with the increased volume sales. They not only knew the schedule was shot, buy intended to benefit from it.
Accounts in 2 months and then we can see what everyone is uptp, if he surprised if Hazard stays if they get a solid offer. Similarly the Ramsey situation was waiting f9r accounts. Eden let that slip for the smart reader.
Not for posting, but I like the concept of the article, bit constructively don’t be so tentative about your points. I see what you day, but ppl are stupid.