Reiss Nelson has named the four stars of Arsenal’s FA Youth Cup campaign he expects to succeed, ahead of competition’s final rounds.

Arsenal are currently in the semi-finals of the cup, facing two legs against Blackpool Youth. They play in Blackpool on Tuesday March 20th at 19:00, followed by the return leg at the Emirates Stadium on Monday April 16th, also at 19:00.

Nelson told the Arsenal website that there’s a good feeling around the club academy right now.

“It’s a really exciting time for all youth teams at the moment,” he said. “We’re near the top of the table in the Premier League 2 and we’re into the latter rounds of the FA Youth Cup. I think everyone’s just buzzing in the youth section of the training ground at the moment.”

As someone who still spends half his time with the youth teams, Nelson gets a better look than most at the next rising stars at Arsenal.

Here are the four players he thinks we should watch out for:

2Xavier Amaechi

Xavier Amaechi
  • Age: 17
  • Position: Winger

Amaechi joined Arsenal at the age of 12 from Fulham FC. He’s a boyhood fan of the Gunners, so he definitely has the club at heart.

The winger is fast, carries the ball well and he’s good in 1v1 situations.

He’s also a creative player, and admitted recently that he looks up to Mesut Özil. The 17-year-old hasn’t had the chance to train with the German so far, but at the rate he’s going it won’t be long.

Amaechi’s best performance of the season so far came in Arsenal’s first match in the Youth Cup, when he scored both of the goals in a 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday.

A special mention also has to go to his goal and general showing as the u18s demolished Tottenham 6-0 late last year.

Nelson’s opinion

“We’ve got so many talented youngsters in our ranks, but the ones who have really stood out to me are Trae Coyle at No 10 and Xavier on the wing, who has also made a couple of under-23 appearances.”

2017/18 stats

  • Premier League 2 (u23s): 5 appearances, 2 assists.
  • U18 Premier League: 4 appearances, 4 goals.
  • FA Youth Cup: 4 appearances, 3 goals, 1 assist.
  • Overall: 13 appearances, 7 goals, 3 assists.