Arsenal youngster Lino Sousa could make his senior debut in the UEFA Champions League tonight against PSV.
Eighteen-year-old Sousa is one of three highly-regarded Arsenal youth prospects travelling with the team for tonight’s final group game. Ethan Nwaneri (16) and Reuell Walters (18) have also made the trip to Eindhoven for tonight’s game. Should Nwaneri play, he would become the youngest-ever Arsenal player in European competition.
All three players are highly-rated members of the Gunners’ youth sides, and have impressed manager Mikel Arteta while training with the senior squad.
Arsenal have already made the Champions League knockout stages, with four wins from five so far. They have won Group B with a game to spare, their only loss in the competition coming away at Lens on 3 October.
The Ligue 1 outfit won 2-1 in France, but were thrashed 6-0 at the Emirates as Arsenal dominated in the return fixture.
Portuguese-born Sousa and his fellow youngsters have been highly praised in recent weeks. Speaking before tonight’s game, Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko said: “They’re amazing. All of them.
“I see them almost every day at the training ground, the way they train and the way they’re working, they definitely deserve this chance and hopefully we can see them very, very soon on the pitch.”
🚨🔴⚪️ Arsenal talents Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sousa and Reuell Walters have all travelled with Arsenal squad ahead of UCL game. pic.twitter.com/lLRlXPCscb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 11, 2023
Who Is Lino Sousa?
Lino Gonçalo da Cruz Sousa was born in Portugal on 19 January 2005. The defender moved to Wolverhampton from Lisbon with his family when he was eight years old.
As a child, Sousa played for Aspire FC before joining the academy system at EFL Championship side West Bromwich Albion. At West Brom, he was a regular in the Baggies youth side that reached the FA Youth Cup semi-finals in 2021 – age just 16.
Lino Sousa joined Arsenal from West Brom in January 2022, and quickly impressed. His progress was so fast at the Gunners that there was talk of fast-tracking him into senior training as early as summer 2022.
Such was the impression made by Sousa on his arrival that left-back Joel Lopez was allowed to return to Spain that summer. This was despite Lopez contributing two goals and five assists for the under-23 side that season.
The first senior involvement for Sousa was his invitation to the first team’s training camp in Germany in 2022. Despite receiving a call-up to the Portuguese under-19 side, he opted to stay with Arsenal in order to train with the senior squad.
Lino Sousa received a Portugal call-up for the ongoing Under-19 European Championship but decided to stay at Arsenal to train with the first team ahead of their trip to Germany
(@ArtdeRoche )https://t.co/5oupM7MQTY pic.twitter.com/C391u8e6xb
— Doc (@karthikadhaigal) July 9, 2023
In September 2022, Sousa was confirmed to be a part of senior Arsenal training. He travelled for their Europa League match against Zurich, and was named in the Premier League squad against Brentford. However, he is yet to make his senior debut for the club.
Sousa was a runner up in last season’s FA Youth Cup, going one stage further than with West Brom.
Who Does Lino Sousa Represent Internationally?
Although called-up by Portugal’s under-19s last summer, Sousa actually plays internationally for England. He was first called up to the England under-18 squad in September 2022.
Still eligible for Portugal – the country of his birth – Sousa made his under-18 debut for England in March 2023. A 2-1 victory over Croatia was followed by a call-up for England under-19s.
Having rejected another Portugal call-up in April, he made his debut for England under-19s against Germany in September, losing 1-0.
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