London: Arsenal’s commitment to grassroots football was underlined last month as the North London club officially unveiled their brand new community facility, the Arsenal Hub — a sleek new glass-fronted building designed to serve the needs of the local Islington community and beyond.

And, in a diverse area of the capital, hopes are high that Arsenal can help address the chronic shortage of players from Asian and Arab backgrounds playing professionally in the UK.

The opening of the ‘hub’ marked 30 years of the Arsenal in the Community initiative and, since its inception in 1985, 30,000 primary schoolchildren have been coached along with 910 trainees and a total of 1.3 million participants.

Situated next to the Emirates stadium, the Arsenal Hub represents the final phase of the regeneration project that delivered the Premier League’s newest stadium in 2006. At the centre of the facility is a 50 metres by 18 metres 4G artificial indoor pitch, along with meeting areas, classrooms, changing rooms and offices.

Freddie Hudson is the Arsenal in the Community manager and he told Gulf News of his excitement at how the Arsenal Hub will reach deeper into communities with “very powerful” initiatives.

The Arsenal Hub is at the heart of a very diverse part of London. A short walk away along the Holloway Road and possibly every ethnic grouping on the planet meets the eye.

We’re sitting in one of the classrooms from which Arsenal in the Community teaches the Arsenal Double Club, a literacy intervention scheme set up in 1998.

Facing challenges

“We’re faced with some challenging circumstances. Everyone seems to think of Islington as an affluent part of London and parts of it are, but there are also housing estates and their residents, who face difficulties. Through our partnerships, we engage with the communities and try to bring the best out of their potential, with football and education at the heart of what we do,” said Hudson, who adds that former Gunners defender Ashley Cole’s first association with the club came as a nine-year-old through an Arsenal in the Community initiative.

Of the Arsenal Hub, he says: “It will be the home not only of Arsenal in the Community projects, but all our wide-ranging projects. We have 150 venues we use every week for our community work. That will all continue. What the hub does is it gives those projects a home, and the participants a sense of belonging and a connection with Arsenal.”

He stresses, however, that their focus isn’t on local player recruitment and that the club scouts are tasked with spotting playing talents, who are then trained at the club’s youth academies.

At its launch, however, first team stars Per Mertersacker and Francis Coquelin hosted a pre-opening event, with coach Arsene Wenger even taking a ceremonial penalty at the official opening.

Thanks to the support of Arsenal and their partners, along with the wisdom of the amiable Hudson, the Arsenal Hub is sure to benefit the community for many years to come.

— The writer is a sports journalist based in the UK