By Lloyd Webb
Since his arrival at Arsenal this summer, Ismael Bennacer has quickly made quite an impression.
The French midfielder joined the club from Arles, and soon found himself training with the first team – surrounded by global superstars like Mesut Ozil and Alexis.
After impressing for the under-21s and during the club’s Uefa Youth League campaign, things soon got even better for Bennacer when he came off the bench to make his first-team debut in the League Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in October.
It was quite an moment for the 17-year-old, and he hopes that if he can impress again when Arsenal return to Youth League action against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday – in a game live on Arsenal.com – it could lead to further call-ups.
“It was hard because we lost [against Sheffield Wednesday] but it was a very good experience with the first team,” Bennacer told Arsenal.com. “It was hard for me because it was my first time as I didn’t play from the start but it was very, very good.
“I loved it. I felt I was playing with great players like Olivier Giroud. It was quick, very, very quick and there was a lot of impact but it was very good.
"I’m always ready though. We want to win on Tuesday against Dinamo Zagreb as we will be first in the group and we are prepared. We have our chance like every other team so if we do what the coach tells us then I think we can win.”
Ismael Bennacer
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