Reuell Walters
Walters training with Arsenal in 2022
Personal information
Full name Reuell Joshua Walters[1]
Date of birth (2004-12-16) 16 December 2004
Place of birth Lambeth, London, England[2]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 76
Youth career
2012–2013 Peckham Town
2013–2015 Unique FA
2015–2019 Tottenham Hotspur
2020– Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– Arsenal 0 (0)
International career‡
2021–2022 England U18 5 (0)
2023– England U19 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:42, 29 March 2023 (UTC)

Reuell Joshua Walters (born 16 December 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Arsenal.[4][5][6]

Early life

Walters was born in Lambeth, South London to father Raphael and mother Aisha, a former British gymnastics champion.[3]

Club career

Early career

Having briefly played for a "Brazilian soccer school" in London until it shut down, Walters had a spell with Peckham Town at the age of seven.[3] He went on to spend two seasons with Unique FA, before being recommended to trial with both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur by Unique FA founder Jamie Waller.[3]

He was offered a deal by both, and Walters joined the academy of Tottenham Hotspur in March 2015 at the age of ten, before his family moved to Potters Bar, a town north of central London. After starting brightly in Spurs' academy, playing in older age groups as he progressed, he eventually lost interest in football, with his father saying that he felt "lost" at the time.[3] After four years with Spurs, he played his last game with the club in March 2019, with his deal ending in June of the same year.[3]

Following the expiration of his contract with Tottenham Hotspur, he was offered a deal by a number of professional sides, including Manchester United, who offered him a schoolboy contract.[3] Walters agreed to join Manchester United, rejecting rivals Manchester City in the process, however, the Premier League declined Walters' registration, because United had already met their quota as departing players were still registered at the time.[3]

Following his collapsed move to Manchester United, a trial period was arranged with Charlton Athletic, but following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, this did not come to fruition.[3] During this time, he trained on a 1-to-1 basis with Saul Isaksson-Hurst, a footballing consultant who had organised his trial with Manchester United.[3] Isaksson-Hurst would invite Lee Heron, the head of youth development at Arsenal, the club Walters had supported since he was a child, to watch him train, and he was invited to trial with Arsenal in August 2020.[3]

Arsenal

Following an investigation by the Premier League, to ensure he had not been tapped up, Walters joined the Gunners as an under-16 on 19 October 2020.[2] He was called to Arsenal Under-21s by then coach Kevin Betsy in the 2021–22 season as an inverting and overlapping full-back/wing-back.[3] He signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2022.[7]

Walters was one of five academy players to travel with the first team to Germany for a mini training camp at Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach in July 2022,[8] and started as a right-sided centre-back in the friendly to 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg on 8 July.[9] In the same month he was the only academy player taken to the U.S. tour,[10] where he had a cameo at left-back against Premier League side Everton on 16 July.[5][11] In the 2022–23 season, he played left-sided centre-back in Arsenal's Under-18s FA Youth Cup run coached by Jack Wilshere.[3]

Walters has appeared multiple times as an unused substitute for Arsenal's first team since March 2023, with the first being in the Europa League last-16 first leg match away to Sporting CP at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal on 9 March.[12][13]

International

Walters is eligible to represent England, Germany or Jamaica at international level.[3]

Having represented England U18s, Walters made his U19 debut on 22 March 2023 during a 1–0 win over Hungary at the Bescot Stadium during 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 November 2023
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal U21 2021–22[15] — ———3[lower-alpha 1]030
2022–23[16] — — — — 3[lower-alpha 1] 0 3 0
2023–24[17] — — — — 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 2 0
Total — — — 8 0 8 0
Career total ———8080
  1. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "2022/23 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Reuell Walters". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 de Roché, Art (14 April 2023). "Reuell Walters: From Tottenham to Manchester United to Arsenal… via Fortnite". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Reuell Walters at WorldFootball.net
  5. 1 2 Jonty Colman (17 July 2022). "Who is Reuell Walters? Arsenal youngster made starring cameo against Everton". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Aniket Rai (19 March 2023). "Who is Reuell Walters? Arsenal call up young defender after William Saliba's injury". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Gilbert, Samuel (22 February 2022). "Reuell Walters signs first professional contract". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Gilbert, Samuel (8 July 2022). "Find out about our young Gunners in Germany". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  9. ↑ James, Josh (8 July 2022). "Match report: 1. FC Nurnberg 3-5 Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  10. ↑ James, Josh (13 July 2022). "Squad named for US tou". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  11. ↑ James, Josh (17 July 2022). "Match report: Arsenal 2-0 Everton". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  12. ↑ "Sporting CP-Arsenal | UEFA Europa League 2022/23". UEFA. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Johnston, Neil (9 March 2023). "Sporting Lisbon 2-2 Arsenal: Gunners secure hard-earned draw in Portugal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Swoffer, Chris (22 March 2023). "Report: England MU19s 1-0 Hungary". England Football. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Reuell Walters in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Reuell Walters in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Games played by Reuell Walters in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2023.

Sources

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