‘Excellent in the tackle’: 19-year-old academy prospect tipped for Arsenal first-team action next season

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Arsenal academy newcomer Tim Akinola has been tipped for first-team action at the Emirates Stadium by Vill Powell, one of his former managers.

The 19-year-old midfielder joins the Hale End setup after being released by Huddersfield, where he failed to break into the first team.

As reported by Football London, Akinola began his youth career at the age of 16 with League Two side Mansfield Town before moving to Lincoln City ahead of the 2018-19 season.

While with the Imps, he played in the FA Youth Cup against West Brom and also had a loan spell at Lincoln United in the eighth tier of English football.

Akinola then joined Huddersfield last season after their relegation from the Premier League, earning himself a one-year deal with the option of an extension, though this wasn’t taken up.

As reported by The Sun, meanwhile, the teenager also had a spell on loan at eighth-tier Brighouse Town AFC last term, where he played under Powell.

Although surprised at the move, the 40-year-old reckons Akinola can break into the Arsenal first team next season, while improving by playing with better players.

“The way I see the deal, I’m looking at Tim getting some sort of first team football next season,” he told The Sun. “They’re going to have a lot of games in Europe, some in a short period of time.

“I can certainly see where he would get an opportunity at Arsenal, with some of the attributes he showed at us. From a defensive point of view he’s excellent in the tackle.

“And given his age and the length of the deal, it tells me that he will get an opportunity to play at some point. I also feel that he is the sort of player that will raise his game being around better players.”

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Whilst Akinola has been signed for Arsenal’s academy – it was announced by the academy’s Twitter account, after all – Mikel Arteta has shown that he’s not afraid to promote youngsters to the first team.

That said, while Powell might rate Akinola highly following his efforts for Brighouse, and clearly he must be talented if the Gunners snapped him up, it’s a massive jump from the eighth tier to Premier League football, plus he hasn’t played a first-team game at Football League level yet.

Chances are, he’ll need to get up to speed at Premier League 2 level first and, if he excels, then he could – and should – be considered for a first-team role.