On Tuesday, Arsenal’s u18s won 5-1 against Colchester United to qualify for the FA Youth Cup semi-final, but which of the youngsters could someday make the first team?
There’s no doubting that the Arsenal academy have a load of promising players coming through. We all know about the likes of Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock in the u23s, but the next level down is offering just as much excitement.
Arsene Wenger told Arsenal Player on Tuesday: “I’m convinced that in the next two or three years, Arsenal will have a lot of satisfaction on [the academy] front. I’m convinced that the way for Arsenal to come back to fight for the Premier League is to rely on a core of young player to come out of our football club.”
So which of the youngsters involved in the cup run are most likely to knock on the door of the first team?
2Tyreece John-Jules
- Age: 17
- Position: Centre-forward
John-Jules started the season with the u18s, but he’s starting to make a name for himself in the u23s as well. As large part of that is thanks to his performances in the FA Youth Cup.
Undoubtedly, the young striker’s main attribute is his goal scoring.
He scored the winner in extra-time at Anfield to knock out Liverpool, then scored again in the next round as Arsenal beat Middlesbrough 3-2. He only missed out on this week’s quarter-final thanks to a harsh red card in his last league game.
John-Jules has been with the academy since the age of eight, and we recently spoke to him about his progression through the youth teams and taking inspiration from the likes of Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah this season.
With Nketiah getting first-team chances, and Chuba Akpom and Stephy Mavididi out on loan, these next few months could be the 17-year-old’s chance to prove he’s ready for the step up.
2017/18 stats
- Premier League 2 (u23s): 5 appearances, 3 goals.
- U18 Premier League: 6 appearances, 4 goals, 1 assist.
- FA Youth Cup: 3 appearances, 2 goals.
- Overall: 14 appearances, 9 goals, 1 assist.