It says right in that article. Three goals and three assists in seven games. I'd say that for a 17 year old who has just walked into that team, that's pretty near incredible.

those stats are a bit misleading..

he has 3 goals and 2 assists in 8 games.. HOWEVER, he scored all those goals and assists in 2 games (one in the FA Cup against League Two Macclesfield and the other in a 5-2 thrashing of League Two Rotherham in the Johstone's Paint Cup)

he has 0 goals and 0 assists in 4 League One league games and none in the previous 2 FA Cup games against Cambridge...

lets take it all with a grain of salt

He started both of the games in which he scored and assisted though, and he's only made three starts in total. He's generally been one of their better players for the past month according to their fans.

15 days later

Bump.

A hat-trick for Aneke and two for Afobe against Darlington in the FA youth cup. Judging by the highlights the opposition were pub players, even by youth standards. Still, no surprises to see Aneke standing out again. What did surprise me was seeing Afobe playing - I can't recall a player on loan to another club playing youth team matches for his parent club before? It seems a bit odd! Arsenal.com has an article about Afobe loving his loan spell right next to a match report about him scoring for the U18s!

I remember reading about it at the time he extended with Huddersfield. Apparently it's a standard practise backed by the FA to recall loanees for FA Youth Cup games. I guess we just don't send a lot of seventeen-year-olds on loan.

Aneke looked impressive as hell in the highlights. He had two assists too in addition to his hattrick. Can't wait to see what he'll do in the first team in a couple of years.

Extended highlights from the FA Youth Cup performance against Darlington:

Darlingham were as poor as Arsenal were great by the looks of it. We could have scored at least another 4-5 goals if it weren't for their keeper.

If I've counted right Afobe scored a brace and had two assists (both to Aneke) while Aneke scored a hattrick and had two assists (both to Afobe). It just highlights the great understanding they've always had on the field. The combination that preceded the 4-1 goal in particular was a real beauty. I wouldn't be surprised to see them do the same thing in the first team at some point.

There was a point where Aneke played a through ball and there were 3 Arsenal players who were closer to it than any Darlington defender 😆

Afobe should have scored another 2 or 3 really.

What is up with Henderson btw? Guy has only started 3 games this year, can't be good for a 19yr old.

Think Henderson's struggling with injuries again. That's probably what, ultimately, will keep him from becoming a professional footballer. He's a very promising player otherwise in my opinion.

Just watching Pedro for cartegena, he's playing as the left wing forward rather than fullback.

Defensively, he doesn't look capable to me but it could be his tactical instruction. He seems slow to track back and his reaction speed to danger is disappointing. More or less, he defends like Arshavin and you would expect more from a player who plays fullback sometimes.

Going forward he looks class, great first touch, good short passing game, always on the move to test the backline. He's quite slim for six foot two but has good balance so can hold off challenges. He doesn't compete in the air very well for someone of his height. On the plus side he looks agile and comfortable rather than someone like Bendtner for instance who seems to lumber and struggle with his size. He's fast, not lightening like Theo but maybe Clichy sort of pace (it's hard to tell given the opposition).

And most importantly, one Pascal Cygan is his teammate.

Thanks for that, Capi. Sounds a bit like Armand Traore, which is always the impression I've had of him.

On the subject of Pedro, this story surfaced on Young Guns today:

Brazil and Spain chase Arsenal's Botelho
Pedro Botelho is the latest Arsenal player to be caught up in an international tug-of-war, after both the Brazilian and Spanish Football Federations signalled their interest in calling up the youngster.

Botelho, on loan to Segunda outfit FC Cartagena, was born in Brazil but has spent the last four years in Spain, as he bids to earn Spanish citizenship and then complete his move to Arsenal. However, his superb performances with Cartagena have caught the eye and both countries are now planning their next moves.

Pedro is on the cusp of the Brazilian Under 20 squad, and coach Ney Franco has already confirmed his desire to include the versatile prospect in his squad for January’s South American Under 20 Championships. The Spanish Federation are also willing to make their move, and are planning to send their Under 21 manager Luis Milla to speak with Botelho about the future.

The 21-year-old spoke to Marca earlier in the week, but refused to commit to either country. Pedro is expected to earn Spanish citizenship in the summer, making him eligible to move to Arsenal. His performances in Spain have won many admirers, and with just 18 months left on his contract, speculation of a move is rife.

The player himself has talked down a move, however, but did leave the door open by saying he would leave the transfer situation to agent Santiago Gerardo. The future is finally looking bright.

Must have some talent for those countries to take an active interest at only 20 years of age. Also looks like there's small chance we might not end up seeing him in an Arsenal shirt, with alot of clubs interested in him.

He had an assist with a good cross before I turned it off; was a good game to be fair. Cartagana's third goal was a beauty too.

“For me, Lansbury will be an Arsenal player,” said Wenger. “He is doing extremely well [on loan].”

Slow news day...

It's really nice to see Lansbury turning into that central midfielder we suspected he could be a few years back. He's got so much football in him.

I saw some of Lorient the other day, by the way. They didn't look too good and got a proper beating but Francis Coquelin played another ninety minutes in a holding role. He was probably one of their better players for what it was worth. It looks like he's a regular starter for them nowadays. Loaning him out for a full season was probably the best thing we did all summer. I think he'll be eased into our first team next season.

I've always liked Lansbury - he seems like such a good all-round midfielder. I'm still not convinced he'll make it here, but he certainly has a shot, and I'd be very happy if he does.

Same. Would much rather see him out there than Denilson.

I just noticed that Nordtveit, Eastmond, Lansbury, JET and Frimpong have been added to the first team page on Arsenal.com - any idea when that happened?

6 days later

Frimpong's been there I believe (unfortunately, got hurt), Lansbury probably got there after Wenger said that he sees him as an Arsenal player.. Eastmond has played a few times with the first team, so no real surprise. JET surely cant play in the reserves anymore (too good for them) and Nordveit, well, hard to say on that one..

just guessing of course