In collaboration with Goal, Voetbalzone regularly highlights young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time the attention is focused on the eighteen-year-old defender Zane Monlouis, who has already trained several times at Arsenal with the first team of manager Mikel Arteta.
Ten years ago, Monlouis’s life changed by sheer coincidence. At the time, as a seven-year-old, he was walking down the street with his father, close to their home in Lewisham, South East London. The pair were walking past KFC when they saw a friend. The man had contacts at Arsenal, they waved at him, and he came over to them. From that moment on, nothing was the same. “It was special,” Monlouis tells GOAL during an exclusive interview. “We saw him by chance and he asked me if I was good at football. I said yes, and in the end I was allowed to come on an internship. I have been with Arsenal ever since. If I had said no, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance.”
Since that special meeting, Monlouis has joined the gunners steadily developed. A product of the famed Hale End youth academy, the talented young centre-back is well on his way to making his debut in professional football. The teenager has already made an impression with the Under 23 and in the future the 18-year-old is looking to join the long list of youth players who have made it through to the Arsenal first team.
“Hale End has gained an even better reputation since players like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe broke through,” said Monlouis. “And of course I am very proud of that. But I have a feeling that a lot more players will break through besides them. I feel like I can make a contribution, and so do some of my teammates who I’ve been playing with here from the start. Seeing what Emile and Bukayo have done inspires me a lot, because I always saw them walking around when I first joined the club. I saw them play and was amazed at the things they were doing at such a young age. It is clear that they have inspired me, because it shows that if they can do it, it is also possible for others to break through.”
Monlouis started his football career with Dulwich Hamlet before he got the chance to join the Arsenal youth academy. “I was a fan of Arsenal, so that worked out well,” says Monlouis. “My father and my brothers were supporters, I just followed them. I loved Thierry Henry. I remember being happy to sign for the club that me and my whole family supported. It was something big for me.” During his early years at Hale End, Monlouis played as a forward. It wasn’t until youth coach Luke Hobbs moved him to defense for a game that he began to develop a aptitude for the central defender position.
“I think it was a game against Colchester,” Monlouis recalled. “I don’t remember which youth team it was in, but I didn’t like it at first. But now I have embraced the position, I have adapted. I’d say I’m strongest when I’m in possession. I am calm on the ball and I can pass. I feel like I can always help the team build up from behind, whether it’s a long pass or a pass to a midfielder. That is my strongest quality.”
Monlouis signed his first professional contract with Arsenal when he turned 17 in October 2020, and went on to make seven appearances for the Under-23s. But after an encouraging start to the current season, his development has stalled due to injuries. Thanks to a tear in his hamstring, the teenager has been sidelined since December. It is expected that Monlouis will not be able to make his comeback until the end of February. It is a frustrating period for a player who is not used to being injured a lot. However, he is determined to make the most of it.
“It’s getting a bit boring to be in the gym every day,” he admits. “But I know I have to get through it. I’m going to work every day to try to get fit again as soon as possible. That’s all I can do.” Prior to his injury, Monlouis slowly but surely became a familiar face at the Arsenal youth complex. After making the move from Hale End to the first-team training complex, he was often called up to train with manager Mikel Arteta’s roster. And while it was a bit of a rush at times, Monlouis believes this experience has helped him feel more at home, away from his familiar surroundings at Hale End.
“It was a bit difficult at first because I was just a young boy,” Monlouis says. “Of course, when I played in the Under-16s at Halen End, I was used to seeing youth players who were younger than me. But when I got to the Under 23 and was allowed to train with the first team, it was a big leap for me as I had to adapt to a very different environment. I had only seen the first team players on television and suddenly I saw them live and had to compete against players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in training. It was a great experience. “Gabriel Martinelli really stood out. He’s so crafty. One second you see him, the next second he’s gone. He is so quick and agile and also a good finisher. And because he comes from Brazil, he also has a certain flair. He is going to be a top player.”
Monlouis’ focus is now completely on the Under 23 and getting back to full fitness as soon as possible. Manager Kevin Betsy has made a huge impact since he took over from Steve Bould last summer. Halfway through the season it can be concluded that the team is a serious contender to win the title in the Premier League 2. With so many players who have made it through the youth teams at Hale End, a tight-knit squad has emerged and the players are all thriving under Betsy’s leadership. “It’s exciting”, says Monlouis. “It feels like a family because I’ve known most of them for a long time. Even the new players are well received and I feel like it’s getting better every week.”
“Of course there are jokes played off the pitch, but on the pitch everyone knows they just have to be serious,” says Monlouis. “Kevin Betsy is a great manager to work with. I can learn a lot from him because he has a great eye for detail. He gives the attackers and defenders a lot of space to put their own stamp on matches. He doesn’t like us playing the ball for long and that allows us to work on our positioning and try to get out of tight quarters. He encourages us to do that and has improved my game immensely.”
But what exactly does the future hold for Monlouis? First and foremost, he wants to make a full recovery from his hamstring injury and then finish the season on a good note with the Under-23s, but he also admits he’s not averse to loaning out either.
“It would be something big,” Monlouis says. “I would like to gain some experience in a first team at a professional level. I feel like it’s a good thing for my development because it’s just much more demanding. The coaches, the players, the environment, the changing rooms, it’s all very different from the youth teams and if you can adapt to that, it can improve your performance on the pitch. Just look at Emile, Dan Ballard and a few others. If you manage to tweak your game well enough and take things in, a loan spell can take your game to the next level. After that, the goal is to break through into the first team of Arsenal. That is my main goal.”