Arsenal U17s faced Shrewsbury Town in a friendly recently, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.
Defender Daniel McCarron was one of the players to feature in the game as a trialist, with Arsenal taking another opportunity to assess the youngster.
McCarron, 15, currently plays for Dungannon Swifts, for whom he has already been an unused substitute at senior level.
The prospect previously spent time on trial with Arsenal last year, when he featured for the U17s during the Flamengo Adidas Cup in Brazil.
The fact that Arsenal invited McCarron back for another trial indicates that they have been impressed with what they have seen from the Northern Ireland U17 international.
If he was to join then McCarron would be part of Arsenal’s scholarship intake for next season.
Arsenal U18s have struggled at times defensively this season so it wouldn’t be a major surprise if the club is looking to recruit in that area of the pitch at youth level.
Having already informed numerous members of the U16 squad that they will be released, academy manager Per Mertesacker has space available to make signings in that age group and it will be interesting to see if McCarron will be one of the players who is brought in.
Arsenal already have one Northern Ireland youngster in their academy setup, with Ceadach O’Neill in his second season at the club following his arrival from Linfield.
O’Neill, who can play as a winger or out wide, has been one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers at youth level so far this season.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird