Former Arsenal academy right-back Vontae Daley-Campbell made his debut for the Leicester City first-team on Wednesday.

19 months after officially leaving Arsenal for Leicester City, Vontae Daley-Campbell got the chance to make his debut for Brendan Rodgers’ side in midweek. He started against Brighton in the FA Cup Round-of-16, a 1-0 win for Leicester.

This was Daley-Campbell’s first senior appearance on the pitch, though he did make the Premier League squad twice against Fulham and Wolves earlier this month.

With Timothy Castagne currently injured, James Justin had to shift across to left-back, with Ricardo Pereira at right-back. That opened up a space in the squad for a backup right-back, so up stepped Daley-Campbell.

Unfortunately for Leicester – but perhaps fortunately for the former Arsenal 19-year-old – Justin then picked up an injury in the Brighton clash, which could see Daley-Campbell remaining in the squad even when Castagne returns.

Brendan Rodgers on Vontae Daley-Campbell

Rodgers said the debut on Wednesday was “just a beginning” for Daley-Campbell, praising the player’s “strength of mentality” on the night. It may have taken a year-and-a-half to get a chance, but it looks like the right-back has a great one now.

On his departure from Arsenal, Daley-Campbell’s camp have always been clear that they didn’t receive a professional contract offer before leaving.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean the club didn’t want to keep him. They may simply have stalled too long, or already known that he’d been tempted elsewhere. Either way, they missed their chance with him.