It has been clear for some time that Arsenal have a lot of faith in Zane Monlouis.
The centre-back, who is known for his composure in possession, featured heavily for the club’s U18 side last season while he was still a schoolboy.
This season he has established himself as a regular for the U23s at the age of 17, while last week he was involved in first-team training.
As you would expect for a player his age, Monlouis is far from the finished article and has a tendency to make costly mistakes at times.
The raw qualities are there, however. He is tall and capable of making precisely-timed interceptions with regularity.
Monlouis has demonstrated that he is adaptable too. With Ryan Alebiosu unavailable, U23s coach Steve Bould didn’t have many options to turn to when it came to selecting his right-back to face Derby County on Monday.
Bould chose to deploy Monlouis at right-back and the young defender didn’t let his manager down as he produced a largely encouraging display in a 3-2 victory.
Monlouis has also featured at left-back on occasion and that versatility could help him to get into the first-team setup.
Already tied to a professional contract, this has been another season of considerable progression for Monlouis, who will hope to be involved with the first-team in some capacity next campaign.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Thanks for that. Not a guy I know much about, but his progression has been impressive, and he seems to be very well thought of.
This is exciting news of a young promising CB! It’s been quite a while since Arsenal have produced a CB from their academy.
“Monlouis is far from the finished article and has a tendency to make costly mistakes at times.”
He’d fit right in then…
Is he right or left footed?
I know very little about him and others at his age within the youth setup. I do however get excited when I hear someone his age is playing at a level significantly higher than they should at their age. It brings flashes of some of the world class talent who made first team debuts at an age when they couldn’t even drive or go to the shop and get some alcohol.
I’m sure he has a lot of work ahead of him but we might be on to a real talent if club and player play it right.