As he glides across the Emirates turf, it's clear that Miguel Azeez has a new aura about him. The 19-year-old is not wearing the captain's armband for the Arsenal under-23s, but as he steps up to take every set piece and orders his teammates where to stand on the pitch, it's evident that he is one of the leaders in Kevin Betsy's exciting young team.
Azeez has never been shy of responsibility, but since his return from a loan spell at Portsmouth he appears to approach the game with the seniority of a man who has had an experience that he will never forget.
"I’ve always regarded myself as a leader because I have high standards," he tells football.london in an exclusive interview. "I know how things should be done. I think my teammates know that I’ll tell them if things aren’t how they should be and vice versa they can say the same to me. I feel like definitely since I’ve come back from the Portsmouth experience I’ve grown as a person and physically as well."
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That spell on the south coast began well for Azeez. After a promising pre-season with Arsenal in which heightened his hype further among Gunners fans with a thunderous strike in a behind closed doors friendly against Watford, he arrived at Fratton Park with plenty of admirers and was thrown in almost immediately for his first senior start against Cambridge. It's an experience that the Hale Ender remembers fondly.
"I enjoyed the game," he says unable to keep a smile from creeping across his face. "Playing against men is a different environment to playing with 23s players. I enjoyed the experience of playing against men and I wanted to push on from there."
Sadly though that wish was not to be fulfilled. Across the next four months he would go on to play just five more times in League One and make a further four appearances in cup competitions, before Arsenal decided that his development would be best served by a return to north London.
Having come to Portsmouth with the hope of following in the footsteps of Emile Smith Rowe, who broke into Mikel Arteta's first team after half a season under Danny Cowley's tutelage at Huddersfield, Azeez could be forgiven for feeling frustrated at how things eventually turned out. Instead though he is refreshingly upbeat as he looks back on the positives from his time with Pompey.
"I’ve learnt different aspects of football," the 19-year-old says. "The more scrappy element, because that’s how they play in League One, and dealing with disappointments."
Upon returning to Arsenal, Azeez was to link up with his former under-15 coach Kevin Betsy who rates the youngster very highly. However, any footballer, regardless of where they are in their career, would struggle after not playing for such a lengthy period of time, and before any focus could be put on using what Azeez learned at Fratton Park into practice, he had to get himself up to match speed. It was here that a crucial conversation between coach and player would play a crucial role.
"In terms of Miguel, he came back having not had a fantastic experience at Portsmouth in terms of game time, but a really good learning one for him, so for him it was about getting him up to match speed," Betsy says. "In the first couple of games we discussed how it’s not going to be easy, 23s football is still very competitive, and you’re not going to be able to put your foot on the ball, and control things and win second balls because you aren’t match fit enough yet.
"But with every game that came he improved his level, and then we flipped him around, sometimes to play deeper roles to challenge him on the 360 and work on his defensive actions, and other times in the eight so can also get his attributes where he’s good at goal scoring."
That versatility is perhaps what makes Azeez such an exciting prospect. In a similar manner to how Birmingham City looked to develop Jude Bellingham, Arsenal have resisted the temptation to restrict the 19-year-old to one position on the pitch, instead training him as a six, an eight and a 10. Azeez has relished this freedom and views this ability to play multiple roles as one of the most prominent strengths in his game.
"I feel like it’s important to play different positions so you understand what other players need from you when you back into that position," the Hale Ender says. "I feel like under Kevin as manager he gives me freedom, so I enjoy playing under him."
Azeez has used these many strings to his bow to earn himself a fan in Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard gave him his first ever senior appearance in the Europa League against Dundalk last season, and now that he is back at London Colney, Azeez has been a regular in first team training and has even appeared on the bench for crucial fixtures against Manchester United and Chelsea this season.
"Yeah it’s been a really good experience," the 19-year-old says when looking back on his time with the senior squad at Arsenal. "Learning from those top quality players, top quality managers and staff. So it’s been a really good experience learning from them every single day and try to take some of the stuff from over there back to the 23s. It’s important for being a leader and they have a lot of leaders in that team, so it’s good to add that to my game."
Now though, Azeez is keen to put what he's learned into practice on the senior stage. As the conversation turns to next season his relaxed demeanour gives way to a more focused tone.
"I want to play the full season in men’s football, wherever that is," he says with unerring clarity. "Whether that’s here, or someone else, it is what it is, but that’s the main goal for me."
With another impressive half-season back at Arsenal under his belt, Azeez has clearly used a varied season to develop both as a player on the pitch and person off it. As he strolls back into the Emirates dressing room with the same polite, self-assured demeanour he had when he arrived pitchside, it seems clear that the 19-year-old is perhaps more ready than ever to make the next step in his career count.
