Arsenal want teenager Ceadach O’Neill to become a first-team success, according to The Daily Mail.
O’Neill joined the Gunners academy in 2024 from Northern Irish side Linfield. He has since emerged as one of the academy’s most outstanding talents.
The young forward is primarily a striker but is also capable of operating on either wing, or in an attacking midfield role.
He combines close control and two-footed ability with a willingness to take on defenders and an eye for goal.
The 18-year-old was the club’s leading academy goalscorer last season, scoring 18 goals in 30 appearances across three age groups.
O’Neill has impressed manager Mikel Arteta. He featured in the Gunners’ pre-season friendlies against Girona and Real Betis.
The Northern Irish winger also scored in a behind-closed-doors fixture against MK Dons.
O’Neill’s development has also progressed at international level. He made his senior debut for Northern Ireland in their friendly win over Guinea.
Arteta has big homes for O’Neill, having been impressed by the youngster during pre-season.
“I’ve been really impressed with him,” Arteta previously told the BBC.
“For his age, he’s really mature, really focused, and he has tremendous quality. He’s a player that we have big hopes with and we just need to develop him in the right way.”
Arteta could hand the attacker his first-team debut for the Gunners in tonight’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash at Fleetwood Town.
The north London side could make up to nine changes to the team that started their Premier League victory over Everton last Saturday.
O’Neill could feature alongside fellow teenagers Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, both of whom are expected to feature against the League Two outfit.
