The word is that David Noble, Jermaine Brown, and Ben Chorley, are all to be released by the club in the summer (although presumably there's a chance they'll move earlier than that if an offer comes in).

Niedzwiecki is quoted as saying, "I believe that they are all capable of playing League football at a high level...."

"The policy of Arsenal Football Club is that if players are not knocking at the first-team door by the age of 21, then it is in their best interests to seek pastures new."

All 3 featured in recent FA Youth cup winning sides, but it is Noble who won the most extravagant plaudits in those teams, from everyone who saw him play (as far as I can tell). His loan spell at Watford last season was successful enough for us to publish a plea to Arsenal not to sell him.

Losing another potential star in the wake of Upson's departure is a shame, but we have to remember that unlike Upson, Noble has yet to prove anything at the highest level. There are of course still plenty of youngsters at the club. Not all of them will get a sniff of first team action, and his record so far suggests that we should trust M. Wenger to decide which ones do get that sniff.

Some of them will. For starters, there's a chance that we'll see Svard and Bentley in action again tomorrow.