_Our Young Gun series gets to know the academy youngsters kicking off their careers at the Sobha Realty Training Centre._
_Ismeal Kabia spoke to us recently about his experience out on loan with League Two side Shrewsbury Town, where our winger is off to a great start_.
I knew I wanted to go out on loan to get first-team experience. I'd been playing under-21s football for the last two seasons, so I felt it was time to step up. I had quite a few conversations with my agent and with Sam, the club's loans manager, and we all felt Shrewsbury was the best option.
That was down to the coach, but also the opportunity to play regularly and get guaranteed minutes. When I first arrived, I was naturally a bit nervous - you always are on your first day - but everyone at Shrewsbury has been top with me and helped me settle in straight away.
On the pitch, I always back my ability, but the support from the fans has helped me massively. Before I went, Charles Sagoe Jr, who'd previously been there, gave me some tips about the town and encouraged me to go and take the opportunity with both hands.
Since I've been here, my favourite game would probably be the away match against Barnet. It was my first time playing in a real professional environment with supporters, and they were very loud. We showed real defensive strength and ended up winning 3-1 after going a goal behind.
Another standout moment was the Sutton United game in the FA Cup second round. It was a really tough match and the fans were electric. I scored right at the death - I actually tried the same shot a few minutes earlier and the keeper saved it, but this time I found the top corner.
That goal took the game to extra time, where we scored again to win. It meant a lot because it wasn't just a consolation goal, it kept us in the cup. Now we're rewarded with a trip to Molineux to play Wolves.
> "That's going to be an amazing experience, playing a Premier League side, and with the local rivalry as well"
The biggest difference between academy and men's football is definitely the physicality; it's much tougher, which is understandable when you're playing against grown men. There are a lot more duels in the game as well.
Academy football is very instruction-based and focused on development, whereas in the professional leagues, it's about winning at all costs. Sometimes that means winning ugly and doing whatever it takes to get over the line.
Some of the best teams we've faced are sides like Crawley, who are very good on the ball and like to dominate possession. At Arsenal, you're usually the team with the ball, but at Shrewsbury I've had to adapt to not having it for large parts of the game.
I'm still in regular contact with Arsenal. I speak to Ken Gillard and Sam after every game and they came down a few weeks ago, which was really nice. A lot of love has been shown by the coaches.
My goal is to keep developing, help the team pick up three points, and see how high up the table we can finish.
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