Two trial players joined the Arsenal u17s for their successful Flamengo Adidas Cup win, with the tournament concluding this week.
The Arsenal u17s travelled to Brazil on December 9th to take part in the Flamengo Adidas Cup, an international competition featuring 10 youth teams.
Arsenal took a mixture of their first-year scholars, u16 and u15 players to the event, as well as two players not officially contracted to the club.
The first was Callan Hamill, currently on the books at St. Johnstone. Reports over the summer suggested Hamill had turned down moves to Celtic and Rangers to join Arsenal once he turns 16, and it seems he’s continuing to get chances on a trial basis in the meantime.
Hamill will be 16 in March, so we’re likely to get confirmation on his future in a few months, but the Gunners may opt to wait for the summer to make it official.
The second player joining Arsenal for the tournament on a trial basis was Daniel McCarron of the Dungannon Swifts in Northern Ireland.
McCarron has captained the Northern Ireland u15s in the past, and it seems the Gunners are also eyeing him up for a move in 2025.
The tournament went very well, with the Gunners ultimately lifting the trophy.
The team won 3-1 against Colo Colo in their opening fixture, with Louis Zecevic-John scoring twice and Brando Bailey-Joseph adding another. They then won 3-2 against Del Valle with goals from Angelinou, Alex Marciniak, and Bailey-Joseph.
The following two group games didn’t quite go to plan, with Arsenal playing out a 0-0 draw with Midtjylland and losing 3-1 to Sao Paolo. Marley Frohock scored the team’s only goal of those two matches.
But two wins and a draw was enough to qualify for the knockout stages, and Zecevic-John scored his third and fourth goals of the tournament to earn the team a semi-final win over GNK Dinamo.
That got Arsenal through to the final against hosts Flamengo, and they won 3-1 through goals from Frohock, Bailey-Joseph, and Maalik Hashi.
Winger Bailey-Joseph was named Man of the Match in the final, and his three goals also earned him a spot alongside Arsenal’s Teshaun Murisa in the Team of the Tournament.
