Named on tonight's teamsheet against Aston Villa is under-21s captain Matt Smith, who is hoping to get a first taste of the Premier League this evening.
A technically gifted central midfielder with an impressive passing range, the 21-year-old has been named on our first-team bench six times towards the end of the 2019/20 campaign, including in the 2020 FA Cup final victory against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
Following that, Smith gained experience in senior football with Swindon Town (2020) and Charlton Athletic (2021), before spending last season on loan at Doncaster Rovers in League One, where he played nearly 50 times.
An Arsenal player from the age of eight, he captained the under-18s to Premier League South title in 2019, and has played four times in Premier League 2 so far this season and has yet to taste defeat, with the campaign starting with three wins and a draw.
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