Arsenal’s new first-year scholars followed in the footsteps of Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom by receiving a welcome a tour of London Colney and Emirates Stadium.
Nine out of the 10 youngsters graduated from Hale End academy, and were shown the state-of-the-art facilitates at their new base by under-18s coach Kwame Ampadu.
The talented teenagers then took part in their first training session at London Colney, before they were given a taste of what senior football has to offer with a visit to Emirates Stadium.
first-year scholars
Jay Beckford
Jay is a skilful right winger, who joined the academy from Leyton Orient in February.
Josh Benson
Central midfielder Josh made his breakthrough into the under-18s last season, and has made four appearances for the academy side.
Robert Burton
A technically-gifted midfielder, Robert made his Arsenal Under-18 debut last season and has represented Wales at under-17 level.
Reiss Nelson
Talented winger Reiss has already represented the Gunners at under-21 level. He helped the under-18s to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals last term, as well as representing the club in the Uefa Youth League. Reiss is an England Under-17 international.
Joseph Olowu
Athletic defender Joseph was a regular for the under-16s last term, and will be hoping to establish himself with the under-18s in 2016/17.
Tobi Omole
Tobi is a powerful centre back, capable of playing the ball out from the back. He gained experience with the under-18s last term, making three appearances.
Emile Smith Rowe
England Under-15 international Emile is a promising winger, who impressed for the Arsenal Under-16s last season. He earned two substitute outings for the under-18s in 2015/16.
Dominic Thompson
Consistent full back Dominic was a mainstay of the under-16 team last term, and will be looking to take that form into the new season.
Nathan Tormey
Skilful winger Nathan's impressive performances for the under-16s earned him three outings for the under-18s last season. He was also part of the under-17 side that won the ABN AMRO Future Cup in Amsterdam in March.
Joao Virginia
Joao is a highly-rated young goalkeeper, and a Portugal youth international. He helped Arsenal to victory in the under-17 ABN AMRO Future Cup last season, making three penalty saves in the shoot-out victory against Anderlecht in the final.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
