Nico Yennaris

Nico Yennaris

Personal information
Full name	Nicholas Harry Yennaris[1]
Date of birth	(1993-05-24) 24 May 1993
Place of birth	Leytonstone, England
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current club	Brentford
Number	28
Youth career
2001–2011	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2011–2014	Arsenal	1	(0)
2012	→ Notts County (loan)	2	(0)
2013–2014	→ Bournemouth (loan)	0	(0)
2014–	Brentford	1	(0)
National team‡
2009	England U17	2	(0)
2010	England U18	1	(0)
2010–2012	England U19	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 November 2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:39, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

Nicholas "Nico" Harry Yennaris (born 24 May 1993) is an English footballer who plays for Brentford in League One as a full back or midfielder. He began his career in the academy at Premier League side Arsenal and has been described as a "rugged, all action defensive player, with a positive, winning mentality".^[2]

Club career

Arsenal

Beginnings (2001-2011)

Yennaris was born in Leytonstone, London. His father's family is of Greek Cypriot origin and his mother's is of Chinese origin.^[3] He joined the Arsenal Academy in May 2001 at age seven and progressed through the ranks.^[4] Injuries in 2008 halted his progress and the club were planning to release him just weeks before he signed two-year scholarship deal in 2009.^[2] Yennaris began his career as a striker^[5] and was moved back into his natural a central midfield position, but he can also play full back.^[6] On 10 February 2010, Yennaris made his reserve team debut in a 1–0 Premier Reserve League South win over Stoke City, coming on as an 85th minute substitute for Craig Eastmond.^[7] He made six reserve appearances during the 2009/10 season,^[8] as Arsenal narrowly missed out on qualifying for the end-of-season playoff. Yennaris won his first silverware with the club when he captained the U18 side to the 2009–10 Premier Academy League title.^[9] Yennaris signed his first professional contract in July 2010.^[10] Yennaris made six Premier Reserve League South appearances during the 2010/11 season,^[11] having missed much of the campaign with a long-standing ankle problem.^[2]

Reserve regular and first team appearances (2011-2014)

Yennaris received his first call up to the first team squad for a League Cup third round tie versus Shrewsbury Town on 29 September 2011.^[12] He was an unused substitute for the 3–1 win. Yennaris' competitive first team debut for Arsenal (playing at right back) came on 25 October 2011 in a 2–1 League Cup fourth round win over Bolton Wanderers, in which he played the full 90 minutes.^[13] In November and December, Yennaris was an unused substitute for League Cup fifth round and Champions League group stage defeats to Manchester City^[14] and Olympiacos^[15] respectively and signed a contract extension.^[16] On 9 January 2012, Yennaris made his first FA Cup appearance for Arsenal, coming on for the injured Francis Coquelin at right back, as Arsenal beat Leeds United 1–0 in the third round.^[17] On 15 January 2012, Yennaris received his first call into the first team squad for a Premier League game, when he was an unused substitute for Arsenal's 3–2 defeat at Swansea City.^[18] He made his league debut in the following game, coming off the bench to replace Johan Djourou at half time of a 2–1 defeat to Manchester United.^[19] Yennaris made three first team appearances during the 2011/12 season^[20] and 17 appearances for the reserves, scoring one goal.^[21] Looking back on his maiden appearances for the first team, Yennaris said "it was a great opportunity for me. I had a bit of luck as some injuries in the squad gave me the chance to show the boss what I’ve got and I thought I did quite well. I just want to keep working hard in training and in the reserves and you never know what can happen".^[22] Yennaris was included Arsenal's squad for their 2012 Asian summer tour and played in two of the three matches.^[23] He signed a contract extension in the summer of 2012.^[23] Yennaris made his first appearance of the 2012/13 season in a 6–1 League Cup third round win over Coventry City, playing the full 90 minutes and assisting Theo Walcott for Arsenal's fourth goal.^[24] An unused substitute appearance in the following round's incredible 7–5 win over Reading^[25] was Yennaris' final call into the first team of the season. Yennaris appeared for Arsenal U19s in the 2012–13 NextGen Series and sent Arsenal through to the quarter-finals by scoring the only goal of the game past Inter Milan Primavera goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro from 30 yards in the round of 16.^[26] Arsenal finished fourth in the competition. Yennaris made 19 U21 Premier League appearances and scored no goals during the 2012/13 season, as Arsenal failed to qualify for the knockout stage.^[27] Yennaris received his only call up to the first team of the 2013/14 season for a 2–0 League Cup fourth round defeat to Chelsea on 29 October 2013.^[28] Having entered the final year of his contract,^[29] Yennaris revealed that he would be willing to go out on loan in order to play regularly and gain experience.^[30] He also made four U21 Premier League appearances during the first half of the 2013/14 season.^[31] Yennaris departed Arsenal on 27 January 2014, having made only four senior appearances for the club.^[32]

Notts County (loan)

On 23 March 2012, Yennaris joined League One side Notts County on an emergency loan for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut with a start in a 0–0 draw with Scunthorpe United the following day.^[33] Yennaris started the following game against Oldham Athletic and was replaced by Hamza Bencherif after an hour of the 1–0 win. He made two appearances during his spell with the club and returned to Arsenal early through injury.^[34]

Bournemouth (loan)

Yennaris joined Championship club Bournemouth on 28 November 2013, on loan until 2 January 2014.^[35] Upon his arrival, Yennaris said "I think it will be a good experience for me, just to get out and fight for a first team place and hopefully I can help the team while I’m here".^[36] He was an unused substitute on three occasions and failed to make an appearance for the club.^[31]

Brentford

On 27 January 2014, Yennaris joined League One side Brentford for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year contract.^[4] He took over the number 28 shirt, vacated by Cardiff City loanee Ben Nugent.^[37] Manager Mark Warburton said Yennaris "is a very talented player, technically good and physically sound. He has a real tactical astuteness for a young player. We are delighted to secure him permanently. I thank the senior staff at Arsenal for their help in finalising the deal".^[4] Warburton had previously seen Yennaris play for Arsenal in the NextGen Series, a competition the Brentford manager helped organise.^[4] Yennaris was an unused substitute for a 3–1 win over Bristol City the following day^[38] and made his debut in a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury Town on 1 February.^[39] He was replaced by Adam Forshaw after suffering an injury on 50 minutes.

International career

Yennaris has represented England at U17, U18 and U19 level.^[40] His solitary U18 cap came with a starting appearance in a 3-0 friendly win over Poland on 16 November 2010, playing alongside Arsenal teammate Chuks Aneke.^[41] Yennaris played in six friendlies for the U19s in late 2011 and early 2012, which were scheduled after the team received a bye to the elite round of the 2012 European U19 Championship qualifying. He was not called up for the elite round or the finals. Yennaris is also eligible to represent China and Cyprus at international level.^[3]

Personal life

Yennaris is lifelong Arsenal supporter and was a mascot for a match at Highbury versus Coventry City on 16 September 2000.^[42]

Honours

Arsenal

• Premier Academy League, 2009–10
• Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, 2012^[23]

Club statistics

As of 26 September 2012.

References

External links

• Nico Yennaris career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at Arsenal.com