Arsenal Under-23's bowed out of the Premier League Cup on Wednesday night.
The young Gunners narrowly lost out after losing in the penalty shoot out, with Omari Hutchinson missing the decisive spot kick having scored earlier in the game.
Kevin Betsy's side were missing several key players including Mika Biereth and Salah Eddine, but an impressive cameo appearance from left back Lino Sousa provided Arsenal with a positive to take away from the game.
17-year-old Sousa joined the Gunners from West Brom in January and has already made five appearances for Arsenal's Under-18's side.
Sousa, who is of Brazilian heritage, played two years above his age group for West Brom Under-18's last season and has been earmarked as a potential star of the future by those within London Colney.
football.london exclusively revealed the transfer last month and according to West Brom's official website, Sousa is a widely versatile left-back who has caught the attention of several Premier League sides due to his fantastic dribbling ability and close control.
Arteta regularly hands opportunities to Arsenal's younger players and integrates them into first-team training sessions.
He has done that more in recent weeks as the Gunners now have a smaller squad following the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari during the winter window.
Sousa was called up for an England training camp in March 2020 and he's gone on to represent the Young Lions at under-15 and 16 level.
In addition to featuring in a higher age group for the Baggies, the fullback started a Premier League 2 match against Newcastle in February 2021.
"Lino’s an athletic full-back, reads the game well, has a lovely left foot and it's not often a 16-year-old plays an entire season with the 18s, but that’s credit to him because he has so much potential," said West Brom under-18's coach Peter Gilbert.
Academy chief Per Mertesacker had earmarked the left-back position as one particular area where the Gunners need to strengthen at academy level.
Meanwhile, several Arsenal youngsters are expected to find permanent moves away from the club this summer including George Lewis and James Olayinka.
