Arsenal face West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday with the Gunners eager to close the gap on leaders Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta’s charges can climb up to second in the Premier League table and narrow the gap to five points ahead of Liverpool facing Manchester City a day later.
Arsenal are in amazing form, having scored eight goals and conceded just one in their two games after the international break.
Meanwhile, West Ham picked up a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Monday to go two games unbeaten since the November break.
Ahead of the game, Arteta put his players through their paces in Friday’s training session at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
The Arsenal media team shared photos of their players in training and an academy player was spotted in the thick of the action.
(L-R) Ayden Heaven, Gabriel Jesus and Neto of Arsenal during a training session at Sobha Realty Training Centre on November 29, 2024 in London Coln...
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
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Ayden Heaven spotted in Arsenal training ahead of West Ham clash
The player in question is Ayden Heaven, who has been a regular for Arsenal’s Under-21s and made his senior debut earlier this season.
The 18-year-old defender was pictured vying with Gabriel Jesus for the ball, with goalkeeper Neto also spotted in the mix.
Heaven was the only player still in the youth setup spotted in Arsenal’s latest photographs, with Ethan Nwaneri now firmly in the first-team picture.
Who is Ayden Heaven?
Heaven is an 18-year-old footballer who plies his trade as a defender and midfielder for Arsenal and also represents England Under-19s at international level.
Born on 22 September 2006, Heaven joined the Hale End setup on 5 November 2019 and has moved up the ranks to reach the fringes of the first-team.
As per the Arsenal website, Heaven is ‘capable of playing in central defence or as a box-to-box midfielder’ and ‘loves to progress the play and impose himself on matches.’
🏴🔴 | @Arsenal 𝐔𝟏𝟖 𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
🏴 Max Dowman (14y, AM)
🌟 Potential: 10/10
🏴 Ethan Nwaneri (17y, AM)
🌟 Potential: 9.6/10
🏴 Myles Lewis-Skelly (17y, DM)
🌟 Potential: 9.3/10
🏴 Tommy Setford (18y, GK)
🌟 Potential: 9.0/10
🏴 Ayden Heaven (17y, CB)
🌟… pic.twitter.com/l6Bg5oeDEh
— Rising Stars XI (@RisingStarXI) September 9, 2024
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Meanwhile, Arsenal youth team expert Jeorge Bird said Heaven’s ‘overall performances are often of a very high standard.’
He added: ‘Heaven is composed in possession and reads the game very well, while he relishes bringing the ball out from the back when the opportunity arises.’
In pre-season, Bird wrote: ‘Against Boreham Wood, Heaven showcased his impressive reading of the game and also made some precisely-timed interventions.
‘The tall defender is also elegant in possession.’
Arsenal are scheduled to kick off against West Ham at 5:30pm at the London Stadium on Saturday.
Despite being away, the Gunners remain favourites to triumph, with pundit Chris Sutton backing Arsenal to run out 1-0 winners over West Ham.
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