Welcome to a series focusing specifically on the talented schoolboys at Arsenal who are currently at Hale End – those in the U16s and below. The academy is based in E17, Walthamstow. The third article is on Charlie Phillips.
A talented goalkeeper who has progressed all the way from the U9s to the U15s at Arsenal, Phillips has already been involved with higher age groups which emphasises how highly thought of he is at the club.
Phillips was named on the bench for the U18s last season when he was just 14 and has received further callups at that level this campaign.
In addition, he was chosen to travel with the U19s for their UEFA Youth Leagus games away to Athletic Bilbao and Slavia Prague, while he was allocated the squad number 99 with Max Dowman and Kyran Thompson the only other schoolboys to currently have squad numbers.
Phillips has impressive distribution and commands his penalty area well, with the expectation being that he will be part of the club’s scholarship intake in the summer of 2027.
Before then Phillips will hope to gain experience of playing for older age groups, including the U18s.
An England U15 international, he is the son of Mark Phillips, who played as a defender for clubs including Millwall, Brentford and Southend.
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Previous articles:
Joshua Sesay
Emerson Nwaneri