{"id":3450,"date":"2026-05-21T07:18:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2026-05-21T07:18:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:18:04","slug":"young-gun-brayden-clarke-young-gun-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=3450","title":{"rendered":"Young Gun: Brayden Clarke | Young gun | News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Our Young Gun series gets to know the academy youngsters kicking off their careers at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Brayden Clarke spoke to us recently about his positive season and becoming under-21s captain.<\/em><\/p>\n

I joined Arsenal just over two years ago, and the time has flown by. This season has gone just as quickly – it fees like only the other week we were in pre-season, and now we’re approaching the end. <\/p>\n

Personally it’s been a really positive season in terms of minutes. I’ve been available for almost every game, which has been a blessing in terms of staying fit and consistently playing. The only match I missed was due to international duty. <\/p>\n

I’ve enjoyed every moment at the club, and I feel I’m developing well. As this has been my first full season at the under-21s level I’ve had to step up, and it’s definitely been a different experience. Last season I was mainly coming off the bench, but this year I’ve become a regular starter. <\/p>\n

At the beginning of the season I was one of the younger players, but now I’m seen as one of the more senior members of the squad. The level is higher, and the game is quicker, you’re facing older players who are on the brink of first-team football, compared to under-18s, where it’s mostly scholars. <\/p>\n

I’ve also had the opportunity to captain the team on a number of occasions. I’ve been told I have strong leadership qualities, and it’s been great for my development. I naturally try to encourage and support my team-mates during games, but wearing the armband brings an added level of confidence and responsibility. <\/p>\n

One of my standout moments this season was being nominated for Premier League 2 Player of the Month in February. It meant a lot to be recognised externally for my performances and role within the team, and it gave me a big boost in confidence. I was surprised as well, as these awards often go to attacking players with goals and assists. <\/p>\n

It was even more special that our goalkeeper, Tommy Setford, was also nominated, which reflected the strength of our defensive unit. <\/p>\n

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I’ve also gained valuable experience in the EFL Trophy, playing against senior sides like Newport County and Exeter City. These are the kinds of games we dream of, playing in stadiums against first-team players. It’s a completely different challenge, especially physically. <\/p>\n

I remember facing Josh Magennis from Exeter – he’s a very respected striker in the Football League and internationally. Experiences like that give you a real taste of what’s required at the next level. <\/p>\n

I’ve also had the chance to train regularly with the first team, which has been incredible. Going up against one of the best teams in Europe pushes you to improve every day. The quality is unbelievable. Declan Rice really stands out to me as the level I aspire to reach. <\/p>\n

As a defender, facing players like Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus is a huge challenge. Especially Gabby, he’s unbelievable in training. His movement, sharpness and Brazilian flair make him incredibly difficult to defend against. <\/p>\n

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At a club like Arsenal, the expectation is always to win every game, and next season will be a big one for me. I’d like to go out on loan and gain that next level of experience, but it starts with continuing to work hard every day. <\/p>\n

It’s about building myself up, staying consistent and making sure I’m ready when the right opportunity comes. I think I’ve developed much better leadership skills and become more confident within myself. <\/p>\n

I have a little knock on my calf currently, but I have the U19s European Championships at the end of June with Wales, so hopefully I can play a big part in that and it’s always an honour to represent my country. <\/p>\n

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\n Read more<\/span> <\/p>\n

Brayden Clarke signs professional contract <\/span>
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Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Young Gun series gets to know the academy youngsters kicking off their careers at the Sobha Realty Training Centre. Brayden Clarke spoke to us recently about his positive season … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}