The Arsenal academy made three signings in the 2018 summer window, let’s have a look at how each of them are getting on in their first seasons with the club.
3Joel Lopez
- Age: 16
- Position: Left-Back
- Signed from: FC Barcelona
Lopez is another very young signing who’s understandably being eased into the Arsenal youth teams slowly and steadily. Nonetheless, after a couple of months getting up to speed with the academy, he’s since made 12 appearances for the u18s.
The teenager is always positive and forward-thinking as a full-back, which is just what you expect from someone in that position for Barcelona or Arsenal. His best moment of the season was probably assisting The Gunners’ fifth goal against Tottenham Hotspur in a 5-2 victory to knock Spurs out of the FA Youth Cup.
https://twitter.com/ArsenalAcademy/status/1086236567432298502
The full-back has been compared to a young Hector Bellerin, largely because he came from the same club and plays a similar position. There are other similarities between the two, but Lopez needs to find a bit more consistency in his game to try and match his compatriot. Given his age, that should come in the next few seasons.