Player Profile: Joel Lopez
Player Profile: Joel Lopez by Jack Lacey-Hatton Arsenal now possess greater depth at left-back than any other position on the pitch and that now extends beyond the first-team. Joel López Salguero has impressed this year in Arsenal’s development side, and in the coming seasons may be in a position to challenge Kieran Tierney and others. In fact he has already trained with the senior team on several occasions this season, with manager Mikel Arteta clearly keen to get a good look at a player many have tipped to become one of the best young full-backs in Europe. But for those who haven’t tracked his progress so far, let’s dig deeper into Lopez’s background and how he ended up in North London. Who is he? Lopez was born in Barcelona on March 31 2002, turning 20 at the end of this month. He originally joined his hometown club as a youth team player training at the famous La Masia academy, the centre responsible for Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta among others. Lopez blossomed int...