Arsenal youngster Reuell Walters caught the attention of many Gunners fans during Mikel Arteta’s side’s pre-season victory over Everton on Sunday morning.
The 17-year-old right-back featured for the final 20 minutes of Arteta ’s side’s 2-0 win over the Toffees in Baltimore, where goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka sealed victory for Arsenal to make it three wins from three in pre-season.
Teenage defender Walters replaced Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes with 20 minutes left in the friendly and while he only made a cameo appearance in the tie, what he did display has left a number of Arsenal fans excited for his potential future career.
A right-back by trade, Walters’ appearance came at left-back and a compilation of his performance has gone viral on social media, quickly receiving well over 1,500 likes, despite only being posted on Sunday afternoon.
Walters, who can also play at centre-back, is an England Under-18s international who also played for Tottenham Hotspur’s youth team between 2013 and 2017, prior to joining the Gunners.
The teenager, who turns 18 this December, already has plenty of experience to his name despite his young years, with a first-team outing in pre-season doing nothing but bolstering his credentials against an established Premier League side in Everton.
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Walters has played 16 times for the Gunners in Premier League 2 at under-23s level, primarily at right-back, as well as outings at centre-back, left-back and central midfield. He has also represented his club’s youth side in the Papa John’s Trophy four times, playing in a win over Chelsea ’s under-23s and defeats to Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle and Wigan Athletic.
The young defender has also played 13 times in the Under-18 Premier League for the young Gunners, making his debut for them in a 4-3 win over Reading in March 2021, a game where he grabbed an assist.
Walters is one of the only academy players in the club’s pre-season training camp in America and will look for further run-outs under Arteta in their upcoming games against Orlando City and Chelsea.
Also on the club’s pre-season tour are summer signings Jesus, Matt Turner, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira, with Jesus having a glistening start to life at Arsenal so far since his £45million switch from Manchester City.
The Brazilian international striker has scored three goals already in pre-season after netting twice in a 5-3 win away at German side Nurnberg earlier this month.
One signing yet to feature for the Gunners is new Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira, who signed from Porto for a fee of £29.9m. The midfielder has been struggling recently with a foot injury.
