Sanchez Watt

Watt was born in Hackney, London, to a Welsh mother and a Jamaican father. As a promising youngster, he drew interest from FC Barcelona before being discovered by Arsenal scout Gary Nott as a seven-year-old playing in Victoria Park, London, for Sunday league side Senrab.

Arsenal

Watt signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in the summer of 2008 after joining as a scholar in 2007. He was a key member of the Arsenal under-18 double winning team during the 2008–09 season, and featured in all eight of Arsenal's FA Youth Cup fixtures, scoring a brace in the semi-final and netting in both legs of the final against Liverpool. Following his impressive season, he was handed a place in the starting line-up for the Gunners' traditional season-opening friendly against Barnet alongside strike-partner Andrey Arshavin, and was later named on the substitutes bench for a Champions League match against Standard Liège on 16 September 2009. Watt made his professional debut a memorable one when he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 League Cup win against West Bromwich Albion on 22 September 2009. He had got himself onto the end of a rebound after Carlos Vela's shot was saved. He became the 85th debut goalscorer for Arsenal, the fifth under Arsène Wenger's reign, behind Thomas Vermaelen, Emmanuel Adebayor, Freddie Ljungberg and Samir Nasri. He also featured in Arsenal's League Cup fourth round victory over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on 28 October, replacing Nicklas Bendtner after 76 minutes, and featured as a substitute once again in their 3–0 defeat to Manchester City on 2 December, replacing Craig Eastmond after 68 minutes. He signed an extended contract with the club in November 2009, and went on to score five goals in ten reserve…

Watt has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels. In addition to England, he is also eligible to represent Jamaica and Wales. Watt made his debut for England at under-19 level in a 2–1 friendly victory against Russia at the New Meadow, Shrewsbury, on 8 September 2009. He made his second appearance for the Young Lions on 17 November 2009 as a substitute for Nile Ranger at Glanford Park, Scunthorpe.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger spoke of his admiration for Watt on a number of occasions, stating that he liked "his movement, his sharpness, his great work rate, his left-footed quality". He also thought that Watt was a "determined" player. He described Watt as a "street player" who "makes fantastic runs, he is an aggressive striker and he always finds resources to be dangerous". He said Watt was involved in the first-team group because "he works hard for the team".