One of Arsenal's star players is best friends with a free agent trained with the club ahead of the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.
On Tuesday night, Arsenal claimed a statement 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, making it three wins from three in Europe.
After a first-half in which they failed to make it onto the scoresheet, the Gunners turned the heat up in the second half, with Gabriel opening the scoring before another from Gabriel Martinelli and a Viktor Gyokeres brace put the game to bed in the following 13 minutes.
In the build-up to the match, the Arsenal squad took part in their final training session ahead of the game on Monday afternoon at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
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And during this session, a former academy player who is best friends with one of Arsenal's new summer signings was welcomed back to train alongside his former teammates.
During what was a busy summer transfer window for the Gunners, the club struck a deal with London rivals Chelsea to sign winger Noni Madueke for a reported fee of £52million.
Since then, the Englishman has impressed, despite the fact that he is yet to score his first goal in red.
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But it may not just be Maudeke that has benefitted from the move, as his arrival at Arsenal may have played a role in close friend Tyreece John-Jules being invited back to the club to train ahead of the Atletico Madrid match.
The 24-year-old, who was with Madueke on the day he signed his Arsenal contract, joined Arsenal's academy in 2009 before signing professional terms for the club under Unai Emery in 2018.
Unfortunately, things never quite worked out for the Englishman at Arsenal, leading to him being released at the end of the 2023–24 season following the expiration of his contract.
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The ex-Arsenal striker played for Crawley Town in League One last season, making 27 appearances, but was released following the team’s relegation, leaving him as a free agent.
Since then, John-Jules scoring one of the free-agent team’s two goals in the PFA-organised friendly against Brighton and Hove Albion's u21s, while also spending time training with the Arsenal u21s.
This led to him getting time training with Arsenal's senior team on Monday, where he was spotted wearing an u19 top, as the young team played in the UEFA Youth League on the same day as the senior fixtures.
Although it's almost certain that John-Jules will not be returning to Arsenal, his return to training shows that his former club is eager to help the 24-year-old find a new club as soon as possible.
Topics: Arsenal, Football, Champions League
Ben McCrum