‘Better than you’ - Mindset required to succeed in Arsenal’s academy system explained by graduate that worked alongside Thierry Henry & the ‘Invincibles’

Discussing that experience with GOAL, Halls - speaking via Casivo, Swedish casino experts - said of working alongside global superstars and what it takes to turn potential into something more tangible: “You know what, it was a weird one. For me, and I think most of the boys, it's not until you leave and you look back. When you're in it, I mean, for starters, Arsenal wouldn't have you in any sort of academy or team if you didn't really, truly, truly believe you were a top, top, top player and you deserve to be there.

“And that was instilled in us from probably 10 years old when I was there - you are the best, you train and you eat the best, you walk like the best and that is because you are the best. So when you eventually get into the first team or you're in and around it, all you do is look around and think, ‘no, I'm better than you, I'm better than you, I should be playing in front of you’. So that's that mindset that they instil into you, otherwise you ain't going to last there.

“So obviously being around, and I was an Arsenal fan anyway, so I kind of, when I came away from training, your mates would be like, ‘oh my God, that's a mate from Arsenal’. Your family and all the rest of it kind of give you that buzz. But in terms of yourself, you're like, ‘no, I deserve to be here and I should be playing in front of him, I should be playing in front of him’. And you're kind of angry most of the time because you might not be playing. So that was a mindset.

“But then obviously when I come away from football later on, I'm like, ‘wow, I was at the Arsenal’ - lucky to be there with the best team, at the best time, but also unlucky to be there with the best, at the best time because I think most of our players would have walked into many of Arsenal's teams except for that one.”

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