Luke Ayling came through the youth ranks at Arsenal and stayed for 11 years at a club he has fond memories of.
The Leeds United defender is coming up against his former side in the Premier League this weekend and he spoke of his time there, ahead of the match.
“I had the best schooling there as a kid,” Ayling stated.
“I signed there at the age of eight and stayed until I was 19. I had 11 great years there, learning from the best coaches. I think their Under 18s team at that time was one of the best in Europe.
“We won the league and the FA Youth Cup, we had Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Kyle Bartley and others, so we had an unbelievable team. I used to love going in and learning every day.
“When you got the chance to go and train with the first team it was a bit surreal really. You had Cesc Fabregas and all these big names, fighting at the top of the table.
“I just wasn’t good enough at the time, I knew it, I wasn’t silly and thought I could play for the first team at that stage.
“I knew I had to go away and rebuild and I have done it. It’s now come around where I get to play against them in the Premier League.”
On the match itself, Ayling wants to bounce back from the recent defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City in a game where he feels the Elland Road atmosphere can play a key part for the side.
He said: “The fans at Man City stayed until after the game and were still singing our names and cheering us off the pitch. At most clubs you wouldn’t get that, it’s just a credit to them really.
“We’ll go again Saturday to try and put that right. Our home form has been decent, we haven’t lost here for a few months and the home fans have been incredible.
“They’ve been starved of football for 18 months, so they’ve been itching to get back in here. Every home game it has showed.
“If you ask any player that has played at Elland Road this year, I think they’ll tell you how loud and how good it has been. I know they’ll turn up and sing their hearts out, it will be unbelievable.
“We know where we are and we need to start picking up some wins. Our performances, if you take off the one against City, the three of four before that have been good.”
