Arsenal U18s are entering a crucial stage of the season as they look to challenge for the southern section title and the involvement of talented schoolboy midfielder Maalik Hashi may well help their cause.
A 16-year-old who is an excellent passer, Hashi has been involved with the U18s intermittently this season – he made his debut as a late substitute against West Bromwich Albion in August and then featured again off the bench against Southampton in February.
This week Hashi was involved again as he played 34 minutes as a substitute against Fulham and proceeded to make a significant impact.
Hashi was praised after the game by coach Adam Birchall in his interview with the club’s official website, with fellow substitute Alex Marciniak also given credit as Arsenal came from behind to win 2-1.
The U18s are back in action on Saturday when they face Leicester City away and Hashi will hope that he has done enough to have some involvement in that fixture.
A player who has already trained with the first-team squad, Hashi is excellent technically and makes intelligent bursts forward into the box. There was also a notable moment for Hashi earlier in the season when he made his debut for the U21s against Fulham.
Hashi was part of the Arsenal U17 squad which won the Flamengo Adidas Cup in Brazil earlier this season and it is anticipated that he will be a fully-fledged member of the U18 setup from next season.
Before then Hashi will be hoping to gain as much experience as possible at U18 level, while he will also be hoping to impress in the final of the U16 Premier League Cup.