After enduring a difficult start to his Gunners career, Danish winger Jonas Rasmussen has come to prominence at just the right time.
Steve Bould’s Arsenal under-18s are chasing the Premier Academy League and FA Youth Cup double and, whilst Rasmussen is yet to feature in the latter, he has been one of the shining lights in league fixtures over the past few weeks.
Usually a right-winger, Jonas can also play in central-midfield but in recent weeks he has operated on the left- to much success.
Last week against Aston Villa, with the scoreline poised tantalisingly at 2-2, it was clear that one moment of magic would determine the outcome of the game, and Jonas provided it, lashing home after being teed up by substitute Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.
He is now developing a habit of scoring goals-something which eluded him during his first campaign at the club, having also found the net against Chelsea in the 4-3 victory at Cobham last month.
With Luke Freeman back from international duty, Jonas is expected to return to the right flank for Portsmouth’s visit to London Colney and it would be a shame if that happened. Jonas has built up an almost telepathic understanding with left-back Cedric Evina and has also proved deadly cutting inside to play killer passes or even go for goal himself.
Another area of improvement has been in his fitness levels, he had previously been substituted in six of his first nine starts this season, but has completed the full 90 minutes on the past two occasions.
Jonas is currently 10 months into a three-year professional contract and next season should see him step up to the Reserves. He has been suprisingly overlooked for the FA Youth Cup so far this campaign but has continued to plug away at every given opportunity and his resillience looks set to be rewarded.
He may be one of the lesser known lights in the Arsenal Academy, but this young boy from Scandinavia is going some way to enhancing his rapidly growing profile.
He has really stepped it up in the last 5 matches for the U18s. Long may that continue
Is he a winger who dribbles past players or is he a player who passes the ball more.?
How tall is he now? He reminded me of Peter Crouch when I saw him in the U18s the other day – tall and bony.
This is, by a very long way, my favourite Arsenal website. Keep up the excellent work
@ John, he is more of a passer looking for combinations with his teammates plus occasional dribbles.
Jeorge, how do you rate him?