Arsenal and Tottenham set to go head-to-head for Stevenage forward Ben Kennedy

Arsenal and arch rivals Tottenham are reportedly set to go head-to-head for Stevenage youngster Ben Kennedy during the summer transfer window.

According to the Mirror, the 18-year-old striker has impressed since making his debut for Stevenage this season and that has attracted the attention of the Premier League giants.

The report claims that Gunners scout Brian McDermott has been to watch Kennedy, but will face a battle for his signature from north London rivals Tottenham and Manchester City, who have also had the youngster watched.

Kennedy, who made his debut for the League Two club earlier this year on January 31 during their 2-0 loss against Oxford United, but the forward has moved on and displayed some fine performances in the rest of the games he has featured in. Kennedy has netted an impressive three goals in just four appearances for the Broadhall Way outfit thus far this campaign.

The young Northern Ireland forward signed his first professional contract with Stevenage in February following his impressive debut and is now keen to push on and take his game to the next level.

"I just have to continue working hard, doing what I'm doing and hopefully I can push on," Kennedy said, as quoted by the Mirror.

Meanwhile, Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista has revealed that he even thought he started off as a right-winger for his first club Esporte Clube Vitoria, he has always been a defensive-minded player.

"When we are little, we always want to be on the attack, but I realised that it wouldn't work, so I kept going backwards and backwards," Gabriel told Arsenal's official site.

"The only thing I didn't try was being a goalkeeper. I stopped there. So I started to play in defence and I started to do well, I started to enjoy it. I made my decision, I thought: 'This it is! I'm not leaving here'," the Brazilian defender added.