Koby Arthur

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Koby Arthur

With Birmingham City in 2013 pre-season
Personal information
Full nameKoby Owusu Arthur[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996[2]
Place of birthKumasi, Ghana
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[3]
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current clubBirmingham City
Number16
Youth career
20xx–2012Woodford United
2012–2013Birmingham City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2013–Birmingham City3(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:08, 17 August 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Koby Owusu Arthur (born 31 January 1996) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Birmingham City. A midfielder who can also play as a forward, he made his Football League debut in April 2013.

Life and career

Arthur was born in Kumasi, Ghana.[4] After moving to England he joined the youth system of Southern League club Woodford United,[5] where he was noticed by a Birmingham City scout in 2012. The 16-year-old Arthur moved into the football and education development programme run by Birmingham City's community department, and was soon recruited into the club's main development system.[6][7] He played for the club's under-18 team, and made his reserve team debut in February 2013 in a 2–1 Birmingham Senior Cup defeat to Stourbridge. Development squad coach Richard Beale described his performance as excellent: "He won his headers and tackles and he got the ball down and tried to pass it and he can be very pleased with the way he played.”[8] A few days later, he produced another good performance on his first Professional Development League appearance.[9]

Arthur is short in stature, at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), but solidly built. Manager Lee Clark described him as a "pocket battleship", who plays at a high tempo with "so much energy and enthusiasm".[3] According to his profile on the Birmingham City website, he is "a powerful striker of the ball", able to play in any midfield position or as a forward.[2]

He was given squad number 16 ahead of the visit of Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February,[4] but did not make the 18-man matchday squad, and was included in the travelling party for the next match, away at Peterborough United.[3] Amid tabloid reports of interest from Premier League clubs,[10] Arthur signed a two-year professional contract with Birmingham.[11] He made his first-team debut on 1 April in a 3–2 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Mitch Hancox. According to the Birmingham Mail's match report, "he was nimble, showed the odd glimpse".[12] He made his second and last appearance of the season, also as a late substitute, in Birmingham's next match.[13] At the end-of-season awards ceremony, Arthur was honoured as Academy Player of the Season.[14]

Arthur's first competitive start came on 6 August 2013, as Birmingham beat Plymouth Argyle 3–2 after extra time in the first round of the League Cup.[15]

Club statistics

As of match played 17 August 2013
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2012–13[13] Championship 20———20
2013–14[16] Championship 100010—20
Career totals 3000100040

Honours

Birmingham City

  • Academy Player of the Season: 2012–13

References

  1. ↑ "Professional retain lists & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. May 2013. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Player profile: Koby Arthur". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tattum, Colin (23 February 2013). "Birmingham City boss Lee Clark says Koby Arthur is like a 'pocket battleship'". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Walker, Andy (19 February 2013). "Squad number for Koby". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Reds see youth policy successes". Daventry Express. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  6. ↑ Tattum, Colin (23 March 2013). "Blues hoping to get Koby Arthur signing on dotted line". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  7. ↑ Tattum, Colin (22 February 2013). "Lowdown on new Blues prospect Koby Arthur". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  8. ↑ Lewis, Peter (7 February 2013). "A bridge too far for the kids". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Leicester U21s 2 Blues U21s 1". Birmingham City F.C. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  10. ↑ Lewis, Darren (25 March 2013). "Boy wonder: Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City eye Birmingham starlet Koby 'King' Arthur". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  11. ↑ Walker, Andy (1 April 2013). "Pro deal for Koby". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  12. ↑ Tattum, Colin (2 April 2013). "Birmingham City 2 Wolves 3". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Games played by Koby Arthur in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  14. ↑ Tattum, Colin (5 May 2013). "Curtis Davies named Birmingham City Player of the Season". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Match report: Birmingham 3–2 Plymouth". Birmingham City F.C. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013. 
  16. ↑ "Games played by Koby Arthur in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2013. 

External links

Birmingham City F.C. – current squad
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