Our Young Gun series gets to know the academy youngsters kicking off their careers at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Kyri Teer-Hutchins spoke to us recently about her PGA Cup heroics against Leicester City and her battles with injuries in the early stages of her career
I grew up with my mum, dad, brother and sister in Chingford. None of my siblings are sporty whatsoever, but I started playing football on the school playground with the boys.
One day I came home and my asked what I did at school that day. When I said football, he took me out to the garden to play. He seemed quite shocked by how well I could strike a ball and called my mum out to see!
I quickly started futsal training and joined my first ever team, Colebrook Royals, at six years old. From there, I trialled for Millwall and spent a season at the club, where I won their Player of the Season award.
I actually played against Arsenal Girls when Tessa Payne was the academy director, and she approached me and my family after the game. We explained that I was at Millwall for the time being but would obviously be open for any development opportunities.
She invited me down for a trial at the end of the season and it was crazy - there must have been four rounds and about 60 girls competing. I remember waiting for the letter from Arsenal to come through; when it arrived, it felt like Christmas, I just could not stop smiling.
I've been at the club since I was nine and had some incredible moments along the way, but my standout is probably our Under-16 PGA Cup semi-final against Leicester City.
It felt like we were clinging on in that game, 1-0 down, and then I scored the equaliser and the winner and we came back to win. There was such a buzz around that match and we were singing in the changing rooms afterwards. I'll always remember that moment.
"I remember waiting for the letter from Arsenal to come through; when it arrived, it felt like Christmas"
Unfortunately, I've also suffered quite a lot of injuries in my career, and some have kept me out for up to ten months. I've got to admit though, they've taught me so much about myself.
A lot of people think of injuries as only a bad thing, but I always think it's an opportunity to work on an area that you don't ordinarily have the chance to. Those hard times have only built my resilience, mentality and work ethic.
Being at a club for so long means you make lifelong friendships. Freya Woods and I have spent our whole journey at Arsenal together and now she's like a sister to me.
Right now, we're injured together, and we've always been able to support one another through that. She's honestly the most resilient person I've ever known and I want to see her succeed as much as I want myself to.
There's not long left of the season, but I want to reach full fitness again and get back to playing consistently. Hopefully the girls and I can win the league and I'm hoping to reach the under-17s Euros with England.
Football is a long journey and I'm willing to stick with it until I feel like I've reached my full potential. Whether that's working my way up to the first team or going out on loan for some experience, I'll be ready.
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