Ex-Arsenal youngster finally lands new club after Mikel Arteta went above and beyond

Mikel Arteta gave a former Arsenal academy prospect a helping hand earlier in the week and the youngster has been rewarded just days after that show of faith from the boss

Former Arsenal talent Tyreece John-Jules has found himself a new club after several months as a free agent. The 24-year-old had been working on his fitness while unattached, and his latest move comes just days after Gunners manager Mikel Arteta invited him to train with the first team.

John-Jules was on the bench for Arteta’s first home Premier League game, a defeat to Chelsea in December 2019, but never got a senior opportunity in North London. He also got a taste of European football, making matchday squads under Unai Emery and Freddie Ljungberg but again not making it onto the pitch.

The forward racked up more than 60 league appearances during loan spells in the Championship and League One before leaving Arsenal for good in 2024. He played 25 times for Crawley in League One last term, but left after their relegation and spent months on the lookout for a new club before Arteta’s gesture.

He hasn’t had too long to wait, though. Kilmarnock have decided to back the forward, handing him a short-term deal as cover for injured striker Djenairo Daniels, and he will be available to face Rangers this weekend.

Kilmarnock sit fifth in the Scottish Premiership after eight games, a place and a point above their next opponents. Another former Arsenal academy star, Dominic Thompson, joined the club earlier this year.

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Kilmarnock fans made reference to John-Jules training with Arsenal when providing optimism over the move. “Been training with the Arsenal first team recently this boy so here’s hoping he can be our bagsman and fill the gap of the Daniels injury,” one fan wrote on social media.

“Not got a good career goal scoring record however he has been training with the Arsenal first team squad Viktor Gyokeres in particular whilst being a free agent so here is hoping that a few tap ins will be incoming for us,” wrote a second.

Kilmarnock’s upcoming opponents, Rangers, will be playing their first domestic game under new manager Danny Rohl. The German boss began his tenure with a Europa League defeat at Brann which left the Glasgow club bottom of the league phase table.

“I think today I saw a lot of where we are at the moment, what the reality is, but also it was very clear we have not so much time to change something, but I want to see again a step forward on Sunday and it means we have to win this game,” Rohl said after the 3-0 reverse in Norway. “I think there are reasons why we didn’t win so many games in the past, I think you saw this today again.

“My job is to find a solution as soon as possible with this group, I think I saw a lot about individual performances, but more and more as well how we act as a group, and these are the things we have to improve.”

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