Young Guns: Martin Angha

Martin Angha has featured in every reserve game this season, more than any other Gunner - a fact made more impressive in that he has not yet even completed his second season at the Club. “The fact that Neil Banfield has chosen me for every game gives me a lot of confidence and encouragement to keep on working hard," said the defender. "I have also played quite a few times for the Under-18s which has meant that I have often had to play twice a week. That is exactly the demands on the first-team players, which is good preparation." Martin is considered to be one of the most improved players at the Club, which is praise indeed considering the high level of his starting point. The former Swiss Under-16s captain was courted by many of Europe’s top sides before he decided to join Arsenal, the club he supports: “I feel I have improved a lot since coming to Arsenal," said the 17-year-old. "I do not believe there is anywhere better for a young player to become the best they can be. I can see the improvements I have made, particularly technically and physically. I want to keep on working hard so that I can give myself a chance of playing for the first team.” Martin has not yet featured in any of Arsène Wenger’s teams, but has often trained with thefirst-team squad: “One thing I really enjoyed was playing alongside Johan Djourou in central defence," he said. "He is one of my country’s most celebrated players and it was good to be his partner in the middle. Hopefully one day we can do that for the Arsenal first team and Switzerland. The youngster who has also built up a good relationship with another of Arsenal’s first-team centre backs: “Per Mertesacker has been a good friend to me," said Angha. "We both speak German and I am mostly with him whenever I am with the first team. He gives me a lot of help and advice, which is invaluable to me as a first-team player.” The variety of languages spoken by the players reflects the internationalisation of the game. More interesting is a new trend - German is the latest language to follow French and Spanish as the most popular foreign language spoken at the training ground. Wenger is a fluent speaker, as of course is Tomas Rosicky. But the introduction of Mertesacker last summer and Thomas Eisfeld last January means that Arsenal possibly have more German speakers in the squad than any club outside of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “There is also Serge Gnabry, he is my closest friend at the Club. We are always together and spend a lot of time together away from the training ground. I have known Serge since we were 13 when we used to play against each other. He is a really nice guy, as is Thomas Eisfeld. He has found it a bit harder because of injuries, but I try to be there for him to help as much as I can. Per helps me, and I think it is normal for me to help Serge and Thomas if I can. The language factor helps but if they need anything I am there and I know if I needed their help they would be there for me.” Despite Switzerland winning the Under-17 World Cup, that age group did not make it to the Under-19 European Championships, which seems baffling. It is is a question that Martin has been asking too: “It is something that I have been thinking about myself," he said. "I am not sure what the real reason is, but there is a trend that Switzerland does really well up to Under-18s and we fade after that. It could be that other countries have better academies and their players progress quicker, I am not sure. Another factor could be that the best youth players who stay in Switzerland tend to play in first teams back home and many get into the national side at a young age so are no longer available to the Under-19s. “My team is not involved and so I’ll be cheering on my team-mates who do go, but between now and the end of the season I want things to carry on as they have so I can keep improving to give myself a chance of playing for the team that I have always supported."