Emmanuel Frimpong says Gunners can win title within next three years, recalls ‘serious’ Arteta and names Jack Wilshere as best youngster he ever played with
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Emmanuel Frimpong spent 11 years in Arsenal’s youth team and reserves before he finally caught the eye of manager Arsene Wenger.
Frimpong won the FA Youth Cup and two Premier Academy League titles, but struggled to make an impact in the Gunners’ senior set-up, spending loan spells with Wolves, Charlton and Fulham before joining Barnsley. Frimpong ended his career in Cyprus but retired aged 27 owing to injury.
In an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes ahead of the launch of Saturday’s 5-A-Side bet between Arsenal and Fulham, Frimpong talked about Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith Rowe, Mikel Arteta, Arsene Wenger and Jack Wilshere, but started the interview with his thoughts on the race for a top-four spot.
Top-four finish would be great for Gunners
It has been a very good start for Arsenal. The Palace game was a very difficult one. It’s not easy to go to Selhurst Park and win but I think Arsenal played really well. Full credit to the guys, they got three points and they’re still unbeaten in the Premier League. I couldn’t be happier.
If I am being honest, we have to be realistic when we talk about where Arsenal will finish. The squad are still a bit short in terms of quality. I read an interview by Mikel Arteta and he said the squad isn’t at the standard he wants.
I think if we finish in the top four, we should be very happy. It is not easy to finish fourth in the league. Man City struggled against Newcastle, Liverpool should have won their games, so you can see it’s very difficult to get the three points.
We can win title within next three years
Arsenal have a young squad, with a lot of inexperienced players. As an Arsenal fan, I just want to see progress from last season.
However, looking further ahead, I think we can win the title within the next three years if we keep adding the type of quality that we are doing. In three years, we will be up there challenging City and Liverpool. Our team will know one another more and be playing to a higher standard.
My prediction for this weekend’s game is Arsenal 3 Fulham 0.
In terms of a top-four finish, I have no doubts about Man City and Liverpool. I would also go with Tottenham and Arsenal, with Chelsea missing out. Chelsea don’t have a striker and aren’t in a good place at the moment.
Gabriel Jesus is such an upgrade on Lacazette and Aubameyang
There is no doubt that Gabriel Jesus has made a very big impact at Arsenal. Nobody should be surprised by that. Gabriel is an amazing player and I was one of the fans that was cheering on Arsenal to sign him.
I think he is such an upgrade on Lacazette and Aubameyang because when you play the ball to him you can count on him to hold up the play and bring players into play and make magic happen. Although Lacazette and Aubameyang are terrific footballers, they lacked in that type of quality. There is no doubt that Gabriel is the stand-out player in the league at the moment.
Jesus has more to his game than Robin van Persie
I was at Arsenal when Robin van Persie was the captain. He was an amazing player and such a nice personality as well. However, I think Gabriel Jesus has more to his game. Robin was a better goalscorer no doubt, but I think Jesus runs more, presses more and creates his own chances, along with chances for other players.
Robin is a Premier League legend and Jesus has a long way to go if he wants to match his tally and at the moment I think he is on course to do that.
Pedro Neto would be great for Gunners
I would like us to buy two more midfielders and a winger in the transfer window. The midfield is still lightweight. If Partey or Xhaka get injured we are in big trouble.
I woke up and saw that we were linked with Pedro Neto from Wolves. I think he is a terrific player. He is a very decisive player in one-on-one situations and that’s the type of player we need. I would like Youri Tielemans to join too. They are young players and that’s what Arsenal want. Both would make a big difference to the team.
We need fully-fit Emile Smith Rowe
Emile Smith Rowe has struggled with injuries, so he hasn’t had too much of an opportunity to fight for his place. I am a big fan of his. I even had him as my Twitter profile background, that’s how much I love him!
I love the way he plays, the way he carries himself and he never talks; he just puts his head down and works. I just hope that these niggly injuries he keeps getting don’t become a big problem. I hope he gets back to full fitness because he is needed.
Mikel was always so serious; I thought ‘god this guy is annoying’
I was at Arsenal when Mikel Arteta came. What I remember of Mikel, is that he was always so serious. He always wanted to improve. I remember as a young player there, I was naïve and just wanted to muck about and cheat my way out of training.
Mikel would always come to me and tell me to do this and to do that, and to do it right. I thought, “god this guy is so annoying”. Looking back at it now, I think he had so much knowledge of the game. I wish he had come to the club earlier because if he was there when I first joined, I think he could have been a role model for me because he is such a great professional.
He always had questions. Every time when we went to the training ground, he was always in conversation with Wenger. I am not surprised that he has become a manager. Even as a player, he was that kind of character. He wanted to help players and I am really happy for him. He is doing such a great job at the moment and long may that continue.
It’s not easy to represent Arsenal but I’m proud of what I did
It was difficult when I was trying to get into the first team. We won the FA Youth Cup at the time when I was there and there were so many good, young players around. So it wasn’t easy. There was a major tournament happening and key players missing so I got my chance in pre-season and the manager was impressed with me and I took my chance.
Unfortunately, I got injured, came back, and then got injured again. After all these knee injuries, I couldn’t come back as the same player. It was very difficult for me. I wish I could have done more. Then again, it’s not easy to represent Arsenal but I grabbed the opportunity and I am very proud of myself.
Getting one-on-one time with Wenger as a youngster was a no-no
With Arsene Wenger, he would usually get other people to tell me if I was playing, etc. He wasn’t somebody who you could get one-on-one time with as a young player. You don’t just go to Wenger and tell him you want to talk to him unless there’s an emergency. We were young players and gave him so much respect. He was the big man, the boss. As a youngster, you did what you were told, trained and didn’t try to get the boss’ attention.
The African players, like Song and Eboue, were the ones to help me settle into the first team. To be fair, van Persie was very good to me as well. I don’t know why.
Coming into the first team, I thought he would be arrogant and difficult, but he was such a lovely guy, a very good captain and always smiling. I have nothing bad to say about him. It was such a shame he went to Manchester United, no Arsenal fan wants to see that. He had ambition and sometimes you have to be selfish to achieve your dreams.
Everyone knew Wilshere would make the first team
The best I played with was Jack Wilshere. He was unbelievable. I would also have to say Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was a very good player at the time. However, Wilshere was different from others. The way he moved, the way he touched the ball, the way he ran with the ball.
Everyone knew he would make the first team. He was just so good and he went on to achieve a lot for Arsenal and he should be very proud. It may not have gone the way he wanted it to but then again, the likes of Wayne Rooney would probably say the same. There’s no limit to achievements. Jack was the best young player I ever played with, no question about that.
It was tough seeing good pal Jack struggle at different clubs
Jack Wilshere is giving management a shot. He’s with the Arsenal U18s and I think it’s a good move for him. He has been my friend since I was eight-years-old but we haven’t been talking in the last couple of years because I live in Africa and he’s in England. We have families to take care of so it’s hard to keep in touch.
It was difficult to see Jack struggling at different clubs. He has started managing early though which is a good thing and I wish him the best of luck. I have a two-year-old son and maybe when he is 15, Jack will give him a chance. It’s funny, when I was young, my mum never wanted me to play football. Like a typical African parent, she wanted me to be a doctor or something like that. These days I think parents have realised that football is such a great job and pays well.
Football made me bitter in later years
Unlike Jack, there is no way I would get into management because I have a bad temper. If you don’t do things right, I will be shouting and getting mad!
Later on in my career I just had a bitter taste for football. When you are used to certain privileges and being treated a certain way, and then leave Arsenal and go to teams like Barnsley, or to a Swedish club etc, it can be mentally difficult. For me, I wanted to leave football altogether. I have no interest in getting a job within that industry.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
