Arsenal U18s have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, with their 7-0 thrashing of Leicester City today seeing them extend their winning run to three matches.
Striker Tyreece John-Jules hit a hat-trick, while Bukayo Saka got a brace and Mazeed Ogungbo was also on the scoresheet.
Midfielder Matt Smith also deserves credit for providing three assists, but it was John-Jules who was the standout performer for Kwame Ampadu’s side.
An England youth international, John-Jules produced some excellent performances for the U18s last season, to the extent that he stepped up to the U23s in the second half of the campaign.
He has yet to make an appearance for the older age group so far this season, mainly due to the presence of Eddie Nketiah, but John-Jules’ exploits today certainly won’t have gone unnoticed by Freddie Ljungberg.
Excellent at linking up play and possessing superb positioning, John-Jules is a very exciting prospect. He may not be especially strong physically but he is a major threat for opposing defences.
With Nketiah likely to be involved with the first-team in some capacity once the cup competitions get underway, John-Jules could well get a regular run of games in the U23s in the near future.
For now he will be seeking to perform consistently for the U18s and get as many goals as possible.
Given that he is only 17, there is plenty of time for John-Jules to continue to develop further and he probably won’t come into contention for any first-team involvement until next season at the earliest.
The quality that he possesses, though, indicates that he has a good chance of at least featuring for the senior side in due course and his display against Leicester was certainly a case in point.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
His uncle’s Cat from Red Dwarf, which must make Aubameyang his cousin.
Even if he scores 200 goals for us and wins 3 PLs, I’ll still think of him as Cat’s nephew.
I know that this may not be relevant, but he was really good in my Arsenal football manager save, which automatically makes him a favorite in my book
I thought that Matt Smith acquitted himself really well, under a lot of pressure, in last seasons FAYC final vs Chelsea, also Saka was impressive in those games. Great to see that both these promising lads are continuing to improve and develop.
Great game from Jules…..
Saka has not put a foot in the wrong place though