Now that we’ve reached 2018, let’s take a look back at the top-three standout Arsenal youth prospects of the year just gone.

2017 was generally a good year for the Arsenal academy.

Graduates like Alex Iwobi, Jack Wilshere and Hector Bellerin are all now first-team regulars. In fact, Arsenal gave more minutes to academy players than anyone in the top two divisions. As well as that, many more youngsters took advantage of the Europa League matches and the League Cup run to make their debuts.

Here are our top-three:

Eddie Nketiah

Nketiah hasn’t spent as much time in the first team as others, but he’s still had a breakthrough year all the same.

Throughout the year he scored freely for the academy, scoring 12 goals in 23 appearances (16 starts).

However, he really made his mark with the first-team.

He was a bit of a surprise call-up for the pre-season tour. Most fans expected the likes of Lucas Perez to go on the trip instead but Nketiah impressed in his limited game time, hitting the post twice before he’d even played 45 minutes of football.

He then got his chance in a competitive fixture.

Arsenal were 1-0 down to Norwich City, and heading out of the League Cup with five minutes to go. Wenger threw on Nketiah in a last-gasp effort to save the game, and within 15 seconds he was rewarded with an equaliser.

It was the 18-year-old’s first touch in senior football at the Emirates Stadium, and sent the game to extra time.

In the additional period, the Englishman did it again, rising highest at a corner to head home a winner.

The Gunners still have Alexandre Lacazette, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott in front of Nketiah so after that game, chances were hard to come by. Hopefully he’s done enough to earn an interesting loan in the January window, at least.

For now, he’s been given a new long-term contract with the club, so overall it’s been a good year.

Reiss Nelson

Nelson earned a lot of first-team chances this year, even if they weren’t always in the position he wants to play.

The youngster turned 18 in December, and before had already made eight competitive senior appearances for Arsenal. He made one more his birthday as well, bringing him to nine for the season so far.

The London-born academy graduate never looked out of place, and showed a lot of confidence taking players on. Thanks to his position at wing-back, he hasn’t managed to show his full attacking potential just yet.

With the academy, Nelson has six goals in six games in 2017/18. He also scored seven in 11 in the first half of the year, and assisted another five.

Other than an assist for Olivier Giroud in pre-season, the youngster hasn’t managed to score or assist with the first team just yet, but you’d imagine it’s only a matter of time.

Wenger has called on Nelson at some stage in every Europa League game this season, so if he doesn’t end up moving on loan, you’d expect the same again when the Gunners begin the knockout stages against Östersunds FK in February.

Either way, Reiss had a fantastic 2017 and he’ll be one to watch in the New Year.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

In 2017, Maitland-Niles finally got the first-team breakthrough with Arsenal he’d been waiting for.

The 20-year-old made his debut way back in 2014/15, but had be patient waiting for a run of games. In between, he spent a successful loan spell at Ipswich Town in the Championship, in 2015/16.

He started off 2017 impressively.

He started in the Gunners’ FA Cup tie against Preston North End, and helped the team to a win. Then, he moved into central midfield against Southampton, and looked as though he’d been playing there for years.

Arsenal won that match 5-0, and the hype started to build around the youngster’s performances. He only made one further appearance in 2016/17, against Sutton United, but Wenger clearly saw something in the u21 international, picking him for the squad in big games against Chelsea and Manchester City.

Wenger continued to give Maitland-Niles chances in pre-season, and then in the current campaign. Although he was playing in entirely new positions, at centre-back, or left wing-back, the young midfielder always gave a good account of himself.

As a result, he played every minute of Arsenal’s Europa League run. He also made his first Premier League start, and appeared in all five games at the end of December.

After Kolasinac’s injury, I can only see him getting more chances in the new year.