James Sweet impressing for Arsenal U18s as he relishes return to central midfield

James Sweet had one major aim going into this season as he looked to earn a professional contract and earn an extended stay at the club.

Sweet looks set to fulfil that objective, with the midfielder having produced some encouraging performances for Arsenal at U18 level.

Earlier in the season Sweet was often deployed as a right-back or a right wing-back and he made a significant impact with his crosses, which caused all manner of problems for opposing defences.

Of late, with Josh Robinson now often playing as a wing-back, Sweet has moved back into his usual central midfield position and the Wales U19 international has helped to dictate play to excellent effect.

Sweet particularly caught the eye during Arsenal U18s’ draw against Birmingham City last weekend, with coach Dan Micciche singling him out for praise.

Micciche told Arsenal Player: ‘I thought he was our best player today. In the first half he won duels – in a game like this, on a pitch like this, that’s what you’ve got to do as a basic requirement. You have to earn the right to play and I thought he did that.

‘He won the ball cleanly, he handled the ball well and he made some good runs in behind. I thought coming in at half-time he was our best performer and I told them that.

‘I think he continued that consistency in the second half as well and he even put in a good corner towards the end, so his all round play was really good today. I’m pleased with a lot of them.’

Sweet has set up eight goals in 19 games for the U18s and also featured for the U23s in the Premier League Cup.

If he does stay it remains to be seen how he would cope with the demands of U23 football both physically and tactically, but he has certainly shown encouraging progress of late.

There has also been an interesting tactical shift for the U18s recently, with striker Billy Vigar being used on the right flank in a bid to develop his overall game.

This could prove useful in helping Vigar to improve defensively, while Charles Sagoe Jr has been operating as a false nine and dropped deep to provide an assist as Bradley Ibrahim scored Arsenal’s only goal against Birmingham.