Our Young Gun series gets to know the academy youngsters kicking off their careers at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
This week, Abraham Owusu-Gyasi spoke to us recently about settling in as a firest-year scholar, who he looks up to in training and what he hopes to achieve on the pitch.
I grew up in Newham, around Manor Park, and it was one of my teachers who first pushed me towards football.
He encouraged me a lot, and my family did too. My background is Ghanaian, so football was always a big part of life around me. When I was younger, I looked up to players like Cristiano Ronaldo.
He was unbelievable, and as someone who played as a left winger or striker growing up, I always wanted to score goals like he did. I started off playing for Newham District before getting into the Chelsea Development Squad, which was basically a trial.
At the same time, I was also playing for a team called Levels, which was a great experience. But the Chelsea trial kept getting delayed, and around then Arsenal showed interest. So I decided to go ahead with Arsenal instead, and that’s how I ended up joining the club.
I came into Arsenal at under-11s. My biggest highlights would be winning the National Finals at under-15s and travelling to Brazil for the Flamengo adidas Cup, that was an incredible experience.
Even though I grew up as a winger, I transitioned to playing centre back or right back around under-14s. I enjoyed the defensive side of the game and found that it suited me, so the position stuck.
Signing my scholarship was surreal for me and my family. But I haven’t allowed myself to dwell on it too much because I know the hard work really starts now.
My focus is on keeping my head down, improving every day, and ultimately working towards making a first-team appearance.
This season, I feel like I’ve started well individually. As a group, we had a strong start, dipped a little, but we’re a united team.
If we keep that togetherness and combine it with our quality, I believe we can achieve anything. Since coming to Sobha, training with the first team has been amazing. Even the small conversations with senior players have been really insightful.
Someone who’s crazy in training is Leandro Trossard, his dribbling and finishing are unbelievable. Martin Zubimendi is another one; the way he reads the game is on a different level. Those two have really impressed me.
A player I look up to is Josh Nichols. I really admire the way he plays, he’s top quality. He gives me loads of advice, his journey is inspiring because he’s played for the first team, and off the pitch we’re close and have great conversations.
If I had to describe myself to supporters, I’d say I’m a leader on the pitch, someone who encourages my teammates, brings energy, and plays at a high standard.
[Read more
First year scholars announced for 2025/26](https://www.arsenal.com/news/first-year-scholars-announced-202526?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
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