It was somewhat of an inauspicious start to Gilles Sunu’s Arsenal career after he signed a scholarship with the London club in 2007. After impressing scout Gilles Grimandi in the youth academy at Chateauroux, he was purchased for quite a hefty sum (believed to be in the region of £1million) to start the 2007/08 campaign with the Gunners. Although he had a promising reserve debut against Portsmouth, injury problems hampered his first season at the club and he failed to settle into his new surroundings. Nicknamed ‘Gilou,’ the Frenchman of Togolese descent was called away on international duty on a number occasions for France’s U-17 and U-18s sides, and this contributed to his lack of success in his first season at the club.

He scored his first goal for Arsenal’s reserves against Derby County in April 2008, and has begun to progress well since then after signing his first professional contract at the end of his first season at the club. At both club and international level things started to click into place for the Young Frenchmen as he became captain of France’s under 18s side and became a regular Steve Bould’s academy team. He was utilised on the wings for many matches but his best performances for the club to date have come up front. He came on as a substitute for the injured striker Rhys Murphy in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup against Wolves last season and bagged himself a hat-trick. He also scored crucial goals in the semi final and the final of the competition, scoring the winning goal against Man City in the semi-final first leg, as well as scoring in the final first leg in a 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool.

The FA Youth Cup final last season saw Sunu’s full talents emerge as he stood-out among all the other impressive displays by the Arsenal youngsters during the two legs. He is athletic, has an excellent work rate but above all has an eye for goal. For the best part of the first leg against Liverpool in the final, Gilou played up front on his own. He demonstrated his abilities to hold up the ball to bring others into possession, as well as being a threat himself in behind the defence. Pace and strength are crucial to his game, but he can also provide a good pass, something which is crucial as a lone front man. Winning the ball and giving no nonsense passes to keep possession is an important part of his game, and it is something he will no doubt want to continue to improve on as he develops as a player.

His goal against Liverpool in the final was part of a typical Arsenal move as the ball was moved from left to right before a through ball left Sunu one on one with the goalkeeper. His first touch was good and he finished coolly after being put under some pressure. His hold-up play was also demonstrated in the build up to the third goal as Sunu came short for a pass, held up the ball taking out Liverpool defenders in the process and passed neatly to an oncoming midfielder who provided the assist for Sanchez Watt to finish another fine Arsenal move.

At 18 years of age, Sunu still has time to progress and by the end of last season, was regularly involved in Neil Banfield’s reserve team. This term, he has scored three goals in the Reserve League South, but most importantly he has made his debut for the first team. He started the League Cup third round match against West Brom in September, and at the start of this month, came on as a substitute during Arsenal’s Champions League group match against Olympiakos. Question marks remain over whether Sunu will be a regular, consistent goalscorer but his quick progression over the last year has made him one of the brightest prospects in Arsenal’s youth setup.