Arsenal starlet Ignasi Miquel is looking ahead after making his first-team debut for the Gunners.
Defender looking ahead after making debut for Gunners
Arsenal starlet Ignasi Miquel is looking ahead after making his first-team debut for the Gunners.
The 18-year-old Spanish defender featured in the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Leyton Orient last Sunday, playing the full 90 minutes.
The former Barcelona youth-team player, who joined the Gunners in 2008, had previously been selected for the cup games against Ipswich and Leeds but did not feature in either game.
Miquel, who is reserve-team captain at Emirates, is now looking to push on after getting his first taste of senior action.
He told
as.com: "Yes, I really wanted to play with the first team, but they are decisions of the manager and not yours.
"He knows more than yourself if you're ready. I am very happy because a debut is a debut and it's amazing, quite beautiful."
Miquel left Barcelona in 2004 and then played for Union Deportiva Cornella before joining the Gunners when he turned 16 for a fee believed to be around £1million, depending on appearances.
More determined
He said leaving Barca made him more determined to succeed in the game, adding: "Let's see, you learn to fight. When you get kicked out of Barcelona you go down a bit.
"And you think that you will not be able to continue in football. I continue because I liked it. At the end I was lucky, rewarded, whatever you call it, I think more luck than anything."
He added he was surprised to have been made reserve-team captain at the Emirates.
"To me at first I was a little surprised because I was the youngest of the team. It is a responsibility, seeing that my colleagues have much more time here and have more experience.
"But I think it's something they do thinking about the future, they want you to be in a pivotal position to lead, to talk much to other players."
International stage
Miquel, who has previously been part of the Spanish Under 16 squad, played down talk that his debut may help him feature on the international stage as well.
"But I'm not too worried about it, the most important thing for me now is to do well with my team and then will come the rest.
"If you excel in your team, they see it and there is always an opportunity."
As for next season, he added he would like to make a push to be a more regular first-teamer but accepts it will be very difficult. Instead he may continue in the reserves or go out on loan to gain more experience and further his footballing knowledge.
As regards temporarily switching back to Spain, he said: "Well, maybe, or I could stay here as part of the team. Those are things that have not yet been spoken. I will wait for the next season to see how everything goes."
