Arsenal’s Bright Young Hope Nico Yennaris: From Mascot to Midfielder

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has praised the amazing rise to prominence of young midfielder Nico Yennaris.

The 19-year-old has come through the academy at Arsenal and is now on the brink of breaking into the first team after impressing for the reserves and in the NextGen side.

Yennaris is a lifelong Arsenal fan and was fortunate enough to be picked as a mascot for the Gunners clash against Coventry in September, 2000. Twelve years later he could well face the Sky Blues in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night.

That fixture, which ended 2-1 thanks to goals from Sylvain Wiltord and Paolo Vernazza, was the last time that Coventry had made the trip to north London and it seems Yennaris could well pull on the kit for real this time.

Wenger was asked if he was aware of the tail and he answered: "Yes and Nico Yennaris has a good chance to be on the pitch on Wednesday night so that is a fantastic story.

"Dreams do come true sometimes when you really want it, you have to be lucky as well, but first of all you must really want it and Nico is one of these guys who has that," he told Arsenal's official website.

"He is ready to give himself a chance and with full commitment. He is a fantastic player, but as well, he has an excellent attitude and it is a good example to follow for all the fans who turn up on Wednesday night."

Yennaris made his Premier League debut last year when he came on as a substitute for Johan Djourou against Manchester United last season, before going on a short term loan to Notts County.

This season he has regularly featured for Arsenal Under-21's and has been named as the captain for the NextGen side.