Former Arsenal academy chief Andries Jonker says Eddie Nketiah's current senior success is down to sheer hard work.
Telstar boss Jonker helped develop the likes of Nketiah during his time with the Gunners.
He told the Mirror: “Nketiah was a different story, it wasn't so easy to see. He was working hard and in fact there was a discussion in the staff about giving him a scholarship.
“His mentality was the thing that made us decide to give him a chance as a scholar, but he had to go a long way and I always told him, 'believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, no-one will believe in you at Arsenal'.
“I told him that and I think he made it from a not so remarkable youth player to a first team player which is not an easy thing to do.
“It's another example of how the fact that it's almost impossible to be sure about young players - are they going to make it or not?
“Eddie proved the opposite, and although many people had big doubt he did it all the way."
