Koby Arthur

Arthur was born in Kumasi, Ghana. After moving to England he joined the youth system of Southern League club Woodford United, where he was noticed by a Birmingham City scout in 2012. The 16-year-old Arthur moved into the football and education development programme run by Birmingham City's community department, and was soon recruited into the club's main development system. He played for the club's under-18 team, and made his reserve team debut in February 2013 in a 2–1 Birmingham Senior Cup defeat to Stourbridge. Development squad coach Richard Beale described his performance as excellent: "He won his headers and tackles and he got the ball down and tried to pass it and he can be very pleased with the way he played." A few days later, he produced another good performance on his first Professional Development League appearance. Arthur is short in stature, at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), but solidly built. Manager Lee Clark described him as a "pocket battleship", who plays at a high tempo with "so much energy and enthusiasm". According to his profile on the Birmingham City website, he is "a powerful striker of the ball", able to play in any midfield position or as a forward.

Birmingham City

Arthur was given squad number 16 ahead of the visit of Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February 2013, but did not make the 18-man matchday squad, and was included in the travelling party for the next match, away at Peterborough United. Amid tabloid reports of interest from Premier League clubs, Arthur signed a two-year professional contract with Birmingham. He made his first-team debut on 1 April in a 3–2 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Mitch Hancox. According to the Birmingham Mail's match report, "he was nimble, showed the odd glimpse". He made his second and last appearance of the season, also as a late substitute, in Birmingham's next match. At the end-of-season awards ceremony, Arthur was honoured as Academy Player of the Season. He made his first competitive start on 6 August 2013, as Birmingham beat Plymouth Argyle 3–2 after extra time in the first round of the League Cup, and his first league appearance of the season a few days later, as a second-half substitute in a home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Loans

On 21 March 2014, Arthur became the third Birmingham youngster, after Charlee Adams and Nick Townsend, to join Conference Premier club Lincoln City on a youth loan until the end of the season. He went straight into the starting eleven for the following day's match at Gateshead, but was replaced at half-time with his side two goals behind. He made five more…

As of end of 2024–25 season

Macclesfield Town

National League: 2017–18 Individual

Birmingham City Academy Player of the Season: 2012–13