The new Academy season commenced last week, so here are three members of Arsenal’s U18 side who will be worth following throughout the campaign.
DAN CROWLEY
A technically-talented central-midfielder signed amidst much publicity from Aston Villa in the summer, Crowley is an England U17 international and is considered to be one of the country’s brightest prospects. A fine passer of the ball and an excellent dribbler, he scored his first goal for the club as the U18s lost to Fulham this week, and could break into the U21 side in the next few months.
There are some aspects of his game that the 16 year old still has to work on, however, such as knowing when to release the ball at the correct moment, whilst the defensive side of his game is not without its faults. On the whole, though, Crowley is an intriguing prospect for the future and, given time, his name could eventually become a very familiar one to all Arsenal fans.
TAFARI MOORE
Despite having only just turned 16, Moore, another England youth international, currently finds himself installed as the club’s first-choice right-back at U21 level. Extremely quick and a good tackler, Moore, who has been with Arsenal since the age of 12, can also operate at left-back if required. Having featured regularly for the U18s during his final season as a schoolboy, he signed a professional contract in the summer with the guarantee of a professional deal to follow.
CHRIS WILLOCK
A promising playmaker, Willock may not be well known to most Arsenal fans at present, but he is already causing quite a stir at youth level, having accumulated numerous player of the tournament awards at junior competitions across the globe.
Extremely confident in possession and capable of playing defence-splitting passes with ease, Willock has been involved with the U18s in their opening two games of the campaign and should feature regularly for Carl Laraman’s side this season prior to signing a scholarship deal next summer.
There are three players that are definitely worth keeping an eye out for this season. Dan Crowley in particular is by all accounts a fantastic prospect. As ever, expect to be kept up to date with all the goings on surrounding the academy sides here on Read Arsenal. If you want to see the aforementioned players with your own eyes, be sure to get down to the games at London Colney. The season began last week with a thoroughly enjoyable 2-1 victory over a strong Liverpool side.
