Arsenal graduate Stephy Mavididi’s heroics are making him a PL target

Former Arsenal youngster Stephy Mavididi is tearing up Ligue 1 with Montpellier. A brace last weekend was his best moment yet.

Last Sunday was a quiet day for Arsenal’s current crop of young forwards.

Facing a stubborn Burnley side, homegrown talents like Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Eddie Nketiah couldn’t make it click, disappointing fans who expected a comfortable win.

Nearly 600 miles south of the Emirates, however, a former teammate of those players was having a much better time of it.

Mavididi, born in 1998, joined Arsenal as a junior in 2011 and trained under Thierry Henry, honing his craft with the likes of Ismael Bennacer, Alex Iwobi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

He played a few times with Smith-Rowe and Nketiah in the U23s, in addition to sharing about 10 minutes of pitch time with Saka. (In that brief period, Saka actually assisted Mavididi in a crazy 6-5 defeat.)

On Sunday, Mavididi showed that while his rise hasn’t been as rapid as that of Saka or Smith-Rowe, he’s still a young talent well worth watching.

Now playing for French Ligue 1 side Montpellier, the 23-year-old former Gunner scored two brilliant goals in a 3-2 win over Monaco, including a dramatic stoppage-time winner.

The brace made headlines for Mavididi, but the attacker has been putting in displays like this all season. If he keeps it up, it might not be long before Montpellier’s top scorer gets a move back to a Premier League club.

READ: The 21 Arsenal academy graduates playing elsewhere in major leagues

Until now, Mavididi was probably better known for his unusual career path than for his football ability. And it’s easy to see why.

In the summer of 2018, following loan spells at Charlton and Preston, the six-foot striker, then 20 years old,