American signs with Arsenal, joins in July

[Karma Killer]

on www.ussocceruk.com

MLS look like they've missed this lad. Sounds like he is a nice lad.

[fox point fury]

MLS didn't miss him, they missed out on him. He states in the article that they tried to get him into the draft but he chose Arsenal instead.

There have been a few articles floating around about him for a while and they've been very encouraging. From what I've read he seems like a good kid with plenty of talent and ambition.

[Karma Killer]

Sorry. I see what you mean now.

[chicago_fan]

Credit to AW for getting a head start on the summer push to bring in new talent. First Senderos, the defender who was being attached to big names like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and now a kid from this side of the water who could be a force up front.

With the excpetion of a a goalkeeper, does anyone foresee an area where we could stand to make squad additions? We already have depth in numbers, much of it youth talent. Anyone new would have to be a) really young or b) better than who we're putting on the pitch right now.

The knee-jerk answer seems to be at right back, but everything I've heard about Volz seems very promising. Maybe we could use a center half (Sorry, Igor). But then again, I expect Senderos will be pressing for a first team spot before too long.

[scoonie45]

Has anyone in the U.S. heard of this kid? I've never seen his name in any U.S. Soccer player pools, and he's already 18. I've never even heard his name mentioned. With Simek, thats two Americans booked for Arsenal's training/youth program.

[Coach_McGuirk]

The name rang a bell when I read the article. I seem to remember reading about him in the "Yanks Abroad" forum.

Now if they can sign the 13 year old kid that's making such waves. Freddie Adu, I believe??

[dwinkler]

Originally posted by Coach_McGuirk
The name rang a bell when I read the article. I seem to remember reading about him in the "Yanks Abroad" forum. A search on Big Soccer for "Karbassiyoon" turns up 17 matches.

A search for "Karbassiyoon" on arsenalamerica.com turns up one match - this excellent article from Robert Ziegler that he gave the site permission to run:
http://www.arsenalamerica.com/more/page.php?item=370

[Football Ronin]

Although some of you already know about him, here is a quick piece I just saw on Frankie Simek.

http://foxsportsworld.lycos.com/content/view?contentId=928232

[Coach_McGuirk]

Originally posted by dwinkler
A search on Big Soccer for "Karbassiyoon" turns up 17 matches.

A search for "Karbassiyoon" on arsenalamerica.com turns up one match - this excellent article from Robert Ziegler that he gave the site permission to run:
http://www.arsenalamerica.com/more/page.php?item=370

You technological genius!!! Must be one of those "Premier Member" services. I bow to the greatness that is dwinkler. Your PBP is fantastic, now you dig through the muck to get the gold.

[dwinkler]

Originally posted by Coach_McGuirk
You technological genius!!! Must be one of those "Premier Member" services. I bow to the greatness that is dwinkler. Your PBP is fantastic, now you dig through the muck to get the gold. Hey Coach - Sorry, didn't realize 'search' wasn't widely available on BS.

By the way, I was very impressed with the search function on the arseam site - flexible and quick, easily found the story I was looking for.

[Wolves_67]

Originally posted by Coach_McGuirk
if they can sign the 13 year old kid that's making such waves. Freddie Adu, I believe??
Freddy quote followed by reality. He can't go to Arsenal unless his mother is there for "compeling" reasons beyond the fact that he is, such as employment she couldn't get elsewhere, etc.
All signs point to him beginning his pro career in MLS.

"If I go to another country, I’ll play with their youth team for a year and then maybe jump into a professional setting.” But new FIFA regulations forbid players under 18 from transferring into the European Union (unless they are moving for family reasons), and MLS recently rebuffed the Adus’ inquiry about the possibility of Freddy’s joining the league this season. (“At some point we’ll look at it again, but 13 is just too young,” says deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis.)

[michaec]

Originally posted by chicago_fan
With the excpetion of a a goalkeeper, does anyone foresee an area where we could stand to make squad additions? We already have depth in numbers, much of it youth talent. Anyone new would have to be a) really young or b) better than who we're putting on the pitch right now.

The knee-jerk answer seems to be at right back, but everything I've heard about Volz seems very promising. Maybe we could use a center half (Sorry, Igor). But then again, I expect Senderos will be pressing for a first team spot before too long. Right back definitely. Either bring through Volz if he's good enough or we need to sign someone, Lauren's not a right-back and never will be. The centre back situation is a bit up in the air. Cygan is decent cover, but Stepanovs isn't good enough and Luzhny is a full-back and rapidly approaching the end of his career. A long term injury to either Keown or Campbell is a worrying thought though. We've got loads of midfielders and forwards, but if we could offload Kanu and Wiltord, I'd like to see us bring in one triker as a replacement and maybe bring Aliadiere through into the first team squad on a regular basis.

[rocketeer22]

Well, I guess since he had a viable alternative (his mother's Italian heritage), it was easier to get over there.

[Coach_McGuirk]

Originally posted by dwinkler
Hey Coach - Sorry, didn't realize 'search' wasn't widely available on BS.

By the way, I was very impressed with the search function on the arseam site - flexible and quick, easily found the story I was looking for.

It probably is available, but since I have the "Arsenal" board bookmarked, I go straight there instead of the main page.

BTW, the guys on the World Soccer Weekly radio show were big proponents of BigSoccer.com, although they cut me off last night before I could plug ArsenalAmerica.

[OPArsenal]

Put the word out Coach. Can anybody give me a number to call for them? I don't get the show anywhere down here in Jax, but I still wanna call them and "peddle our wares," so to speak.

Vive le AFC!

OPArsenal