IT’S a big week for Arsenal football club as the senior team get geared up for a potential title decider against Manchester City.
But it’s not only Mikel Arteta’s men who have it all to play for this week.
Arsenal’s U18s team have a Youth Cup Final against West Ham coming up as the young Gunners look to claim the trophy for the first time since 2009.
That talented team beat Liverpool’s youngsters 4-1 and 2-1 over two legs with Jack Wilshere among the scorers.
SunSport had a look at what happened next for the talented crop of youngsters and how their football careers turned out.
James Shea
James Shea started in between the sticks for Arsenal in both legs and conceded one in each game.
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The keeper, now 31, has gone on to enjoy a really solid career.
While he never made it into the Arsenal first team, he spent time at non-league Harrow Borough before getting a move to EFL side AFC Wimbledon in 2014.
Three years later he joined Luton, where he remains to this day, with the Hatters aiming for promotion to the Premier League.
Craig Eastmond
Craig Eastmond made four senior senior appearances for Arsenal while also being sent out for a handful of loan spells.
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He would jump ship permanently in 2013 and join Colchester before heading to Sutton in 2015.
The midfielder remains at the League 2 club and has made well over 300 appearances for them.
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Thomas Cruise
Thomas Cruise retired in 2016 after three years with Torquay United.
The former footballer, now 32, began a new and quieter life as an accountant after the ups and downs of the beautiful game.
He only made one senior appearance for Arsenal but it was a memorable one.
The left-back played all 90 minutes against Olympiakos in a 2009 Champions League group game only months after the Youth Cup triumph.
Kyle Bartley
Kyle Bartley is a name that should be familiar to most football fans who regularly watch the EFL.
The defender, 31, has been out and about since leaving Arsenal in 2012.
He enjoyed a six year spell at Swansea which included multiple loan spells before settling with West Brom in 2018.
Bartley has made 51 appearances in the Premier League.
Emmanuel Frimpong
There were high expectations for the now retired Ghanaian Emmanuel Frimpong.
But ultimately the midfielder, now 31, would only make six appearances for Arsenal and failed to set the world alight in loan spells at Wolves, Charlton and Fulham.
Frimpong would make brief stints in Russia, Sweden and Cyprus before calling it a day in 2019 due to persistent knee issues.
Luke Ayling
It did not work out at the Emirates but Luke Ayling has enjoyed a brilliant career.
The defender, now 31, made 185 appearances for Yeovil over four years before a two-year stay in Bristol City.
He then joined Leeds United in 2016 and was promoted to the top flight alongside future Arsenal star Ben White in 2020.
Henri Lansbury
Henri Lansbury is best remembered by Arsenal for scoring against rivals Tottenham in the League Cup in 2010.
But he could not use that moment as a springboard to success and would only make seven other senior appearances, despite Arsene Wenger predicting the midfielder would be a “big player” for Arsenal in 2009.
He now plays alongside goalkeeper Shea at Luton Town.
Francis Coquelin
Francis Coquelin was so highly thought of at Arsenal that he made his first-team debut even before the FA Cup Youth Final.
He would go on to make 160 appearances for the North London club and was part of the squads who won the 2015 and 2017 FA Cups.
Coquelin, 31, left for Valencia and then Villarreal and he would pick up a Europa League medal when the Spanish club beat Manchester United on penalties in 2021.
Gilles Sunu
Winger Gilles Sunu scored the opening goal of the Youth Cup Final first leg but could not make the breakthrough at Arsenal.
He would leave for France in 2011 and play for several different clubs in the region before rejoining his local side Chateauroux in 2020.
Jack Wilshere
Fans will need little reminding of Jack Wilshere.
His boundless ability was clear even before the Youth Cup Final and he would quickly emerge as a star of Arsenal’s midfield, making 35 Premier League appearances in the 2010-11 season.
Persistent injuries unfortunately halted the star in his tracks and moves to Bournemouth and West Ham failed to re-energise his career. He announced his retirement last summer.
But Wilshere would return to Arsenal in a coaching capacity and his career will come full circle when he leads the Gunners out of the tunnel for the cup final as the U18s boss.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Despite scoring in the Youth Cup Final, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas would only make one Prem appearance at Arsenal.
He then begun a journeyman career around the EFL and played for the likes of Ipswich, Bristol City and QPR.
Since the beginning of this season, the 32-year-old has been playing in the Indian Super League for Jamshedpur.
Rhys Murphy
Rhys Murphy has had a busy career since leaving North London in 2012.
He has made appearances at 15 clubs between League One and the National League and had a brief stint in the Dutch second division in 2012.
Since 2021 Murphy, 32, has been playing up front for National League side Southend.
Sanchez Watt
Arsenal boss Wenger revealed himself to be a fan of Sanchez Watt, hailing the “street player” as “determined” and possessing good movement.
But he would only make three appearances in the League Cup before leaving the club in 2013.
After a number of years in the lower leagues, he finished his career at Wealdstone and retired in 2020.
Conor Henderson
Conor Henderson made one appearance in the FA Cup for the Gunners but spent most of his time out on loan.
The midfielder’s most recent club was with Pirin Blagoevgrad in the top flight of Bulgarian football.
Oguzhan Ozyakup
Oguzhan Ozyakup is one of 10 Youth Cup winners who would go on to play for their country.
The midfielder, now 30, has made 43 appearances for Turkey.
He also enjoyed a decade at Besiktas after leaving Arsenal before joining Dutch club Fortuna Sittard.
Cedric Evina
Cedric Evina enjoyed a solid career in the EFL and gained promotion to the Championship with Charlton in 2012.
After a few more years knocking around lower league football, he joined non-league Romford but decided to pursue projects outside of football after just a couple of training sessions.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
