Nelson - The youngsters who have impressed me most

Our under-18s reached the FA Youth Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, and Reiss Nelson couldn’t be more proud of our young stars.

Emile Smith Rowe struck twice, while Bukayo Saka, Folarin Balogun and Xavier Amaechi were all on target as we hit five past Colchester United to book our place in the final four.

 

“It’s a really exciting time for all youth teams at the moment,” Nelson told Arsenal.com. “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.

 

“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.

 

“Flo Balogun is like a young Eddie Nketiah up front because he gets into good positions and always scores goals. I really like Bukayo Saka as well. He’s still young but is doing the business for them, including that really good goal at Anfield. He’s definitely one for the future.”