Arsenal Chief Scout Hoping to Discover Next Fabregas at Under-17 World Cup – Report

Arsenal hope they can discover another unique talent at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup some ten years after watching Cesc Fabregas impress at the same tournament.

The former Arsenal captain was the top scorer at the 2003 Under-17 World Cup and was named as the most valuable player of the tournament as Spain eventually lost to Brazil in the final.

Fabregas was a member of the Barcelona academy at that time but just one month after starring in the youth tournament was convinced to join Arsenal and subsequently become an instrumental figure in the first team.

The Gunners have consistently looked to attract the best talent to their academy and in recent seasons have convinced the likes of Serge Gnabry to leave Stuttgart and Hector Bellerin to move from Barcelona to north London.

Gnabry has since managed to force his way into Arsene Wenger's first team plans and the long-serving Arsenal boss has never been shy of handing opportunities to young players from his academy.

Now it seems they are hoping to discover another great talent after the Daily Mail reported that chief scout Steve Rowley will travel to the United Arab Emirates for the duration of the competition which kicks off on 17 October.

The Mail believes that Wenger will then assess Rowley's recommendations and may well look to sign the scouted players as early as this summer.

A number of Premier League teams have used the Under-17 World Cup to discover new talent with Liverpool purchasing Florent Sinama-Pongolle after he scored nine goals in the competition in 2001 and Arsenal signing Carlos Vela in the summer of 2005 after he finished as the top scorer in the tournament with five goals.