Reuell Joshua Walters (born 16 December 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for  club Arsenal.

Early life
Walters was born in Lambeth, South London to father Raphael and mother Aisha, a former British gymnastics champion.

Club career

Early career
Having briefly played for a "Brazilian soccer school" in London until it shut down, Walters had a spell with Peckham Town at the age of seven. He went on to spend two seasons with Unique FA, before being recommended to trial with both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur by Unique FA founder Jamie Waller.

He was offered a deal by both, and Walters joined the academy of Tottenham Hotspur in March 2015 at the age of ten, before his family moved to Potters Bar, a town north of central London. After starting brightly in Spurs' academy, playing in older age groups as he progressed, he eventually lost interest in football, with his father saying that he felt "lost" at the time. After four years with Spurs, he played his last game with the club in March 2019, with his deal ending in June of the same year.

Following the expiration of his contract with Tottenham Hotspur, he was offered a deal by a number of professional sides, including Manchester United, who offered him a schoolboy contract. Walters agreed to join Manchester United, rejecting rivals Manchester City in the process, however, the Premier League declined Walters' registration, because United had already met their quota as departing players were still registered at the time.

Following his collapsed move to Manchester United, a trial period was arranged with Charlton Athletic, but following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, this did not come to fruition. During this time, he trained on a 1-to-1 basis with Saul Isaksson-Hurst, a footballing consultant who had organised his trial with Manchester United. Isaksson-Hurst would invite Lee Heron, the head of youth development at Arsenal, the club Walters had supported since he was a child, to watch him train, and he was invited to trial with Arsenal in August 2020.

Arsenal
Following an investigation by the Premier League, to ensure he had not been tapped up, Walters joined the Gunners as an under-16 on 19 October 2020. He was called to Arsenal Under-21s by then coach Kevin Betsy in the 2021–22 season as an inverting and overlapping full-back/wing-back. He signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2022.

Walters was one of five academy players to travel with the first team to Germany for a mini training camp at Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach in July 2022, and started as a right-sided centre-back in the friendly to 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg on 8 July. In the same month he was the only academy player taken to the U.S. tour, where he had a cameo at left-back against Premier League side Everton on 16 July. In the 2022–23 season, he played left-sided centre-back in Arsenal's Under-18s FA Youth Cup run coached by Jack Wilshere.

Walters has appeared multiple times as an unused substitute for Arsenal's first team since March 2023, with the first being in the Europa League last-16 first leg match away to Sporting CP at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal on 9 March.

International
Walters is eligible to play for England as well as Germany with a dual passport, because his paternal grandmother is German.

Having represented England U18s, Walters made his U19 debut on 22 March 2023 during a 1–0 win over Hungary at the Bescot Stadium during 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification.

References

Sources

External links
 

2004 births
Living people
Footballers from Lambeth
English men's footballers
England men's youth international footballers
English people of German descent
English sportspeople of Jamaican descent
Men's association football defenders
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Arsenal F.C. players
Black British sportsmen