Arsenal have an exciting young winger who reminds Jack Wilshere of Bukayo Saka and is capable of being “unplayable” on his day.
Former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere re-joined his old club as under-18s coach in July and is tasked with bringing through the next generation of stars. Having come through the academy himself, Wilshere knows a good player when he sees one, so his assessment of Amario Cozier-Duberry carries plenty of weight.
Cozier-Duberry has been catching the eye for Arsenal’s youth teams this season. The 17-year-old winger has five goals and four assists in 19 games for the club’s under-21s and five goals and two assists in five matches for Wilshere’s under-18s.
He is already known to Mikel Arteta, who has named him on the bench in four Premier League games this season. Wilshere believes it is only a matter of time before he makes the breakthrough to senior football.
“Amario is very exciting and Mikel likes him,” he told The Athletic. “He reminds me of Bukayo Saka, plays in the same position as him, needs to get better with his decision-making like Bukayo did, but he’s definitely exciting.
“In some moments he’s unplayable. You give him the ball and he can make things happen. You can set up a team and have a game plan, but when you’ve got individuals like that you’ve got a chance.”
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Cozier-Duberry came late into the Arsenal system, joining the under-15s age group after turning heads for grassroots side Chettle Court Rangers in north London. The Gunners’ under-21s coach Mehmet Ali is also full of praise for the youngster.
“His super-strengths are his ball-carrying and ability to take people on,” he said. “He’s an exciting footballer, but (has) loads to learn.”
Saka is the man of the moment at Arsenal, with 13 goals and 10 assists to his name so far this season. The England star has 36 goals and 39 assists in 170 matches for Arsenal already – and is being held up as an example on and off the pitch.
"Every time I watch him, he gets better,” Wilshere told Sky Sports recently. “And the big thing, and this will always be the big thing for me when I watch him, when he first came into the team, the first thing I thought was 'wow this kid makes the right decision every time'.
"Even if it's a five-yard pass, his understanding of the game and where his team-mates are is the best I've ever seen. And he's 21. He's in the perfect place, Mikel has been unbelievable for him, he's brought him on, developed him.
"He's now starting to be arguably England's most important player. And the best thing about him, he’s the most humble kid you’ll ever meet. He smiles, he asks for opinions, he talks to the young lads.”
