ARSENAL NEWS REVIEW
	Barrett will complement Bergy:Arsenal 2 Coventry 0 [5-1on aggregate] by Myles Palmer Fiery,energetic and constructive, Graham Barrett was everything an Arsenal captain should be against Coventry in the second leg of the FA Youth Cup, last Friday night.  We all know that strikers should never be skippers, but the Irish kid did an excellent job,assuming a lot of responsibilty throughout the game.  Best of all, his style would fit well with Overmars and Bergkamp. If you were designing a centre forward to play with those two Dutchmen you would say:" I need somebody who is quick, has a good touch and a good games-sense, somebody who is brave enough to score with headers but also intelligent enough to read the game."  Barrett can do all that - at this level. He is a classy, mobile centre forward with a lot of potential.  Also, what a solidly professional team performance! Arsenal had a great shape, great habits, plenty of discipline and enough flair.  The boys are a credit to Don Howe and Neil Banfield, the coach who did such good youth work at Charlton.  The following day,on the video, I saw a droll interview by Don, who has seen it all before.  Don said:"All they've gotta do now is become good players." He was smiling a tiny little bit. But he wasn't joking. Don was serious. The kids had beaten Coventry 3-1 in the first leg. So this game, played in front of a boisterous young crowd of 14,706, was more of a celebration than a contest.  Coventry keeper Gary Montgomery made two fantastic saves from a Barrett header and a Jay Bothroyd shot. The first goal was a gift. Coventry right back Richard Spong dropped Montgomery in it with a bad backpass.The keeper chested the ball towards Bothroyd, who dinked it over him and tapped into the net.  Regular youth watchers say Bothroyd is lazy, likes to showboat, try backheels. We saw that here. He scored but he can probably play a lot better.  Jermaine Pennant, back from England duty in Israel,was disappointing. He's fast and two footed, but his passing was poor. He can only improve on this performance.  Liam Chilvers, the big left back, was excellent and had a shot tipped over by Montgomery.  The midfield was strong, efficient and constructive. Rohan Rickets is a small, brave, resourceful anchorman. David Noble covered every blade and created the second goal with a Redondo-style shuffle, crossing low for gingernut Steven Sidwell to fire home a deflected shot. Noble is really good kid. I like him a lot.  The highly rated German right back Moritz Volz did not feature as much as I expected.  Both centrebacks were superb. John Halls is a lanky kid who came forward well. He snuffed out one early Coventry attack with immense aplomb.  Niccolo Galli, the son of an Italian international, has the skill and physique to be a top defender.  Keeper Graham Stack, backed by three coachloads of fans from his Dad's pub, also played well.  Overall, it was a feelgood night. Big crowd, some really talented kids,a well deserved win, a peek into the future.  What could be a better free advert than a live-on-Sky FA Youth Cup Final where Arsenal win both legs?  Mostly, I will remember Barrett and Noble. Barrrett came deep, got the ball to feet, drifted wide with it, brought others into the game, showed speed, skill and bottle.   A Dublin lad, he will be 19 in October. I'm sure this kid can score goals in the Premiership.   Barrett is probably better than Campbell and Dickov at the same age,and while he is not quite as skilful as Merson was, he is a real centreforward.  David Noble, who is from Hitchin, was made Man of the Match on Sky and I would not argue with that.  His passing is good, but his main asset is a great engine. If Parlour can make it, Noble can make it.  14th May 2000.   Home | Previous News'99 | Features | Comment | Interact | Search | Links