The 18-year-old midfielder has opted to join one of the Gunners’ biggest rivals to benefit her development.
“Can you give us a ball? My little girl wants to play it.”
That’s a question the manager of a local men’s team in Essex hears every weekend. But he may not have realised that the little girl went on to become one of Arsenal’s most promising academy players, joining Arsenal’s rivals Manchester City in the summer of 2021.
Ruby Metz made several first-team appearances for the Gunners before being loaned out to Arsenal’s Women’s Super League side Birmingham for the 2020-21 season, but will be elsewhere after 11 years at Arsenal Sign her first professional contract.
“When I got the call that Manchester City wanted to sign me, I had a hard time, but I didn’t think it was as hard as I thought,” Metz told Goal, who has been in for a few months. Consider her decision.
“It’s a big club and both teams want the best for me, but I feel that the plan that Manchester City has for me is better for me than the plan that Arsenal has for me. I feel like an opportunity like this, I can’t turn it down .”
Metz’s path to her first professional contract began when she watched her brother play on the sidelines as a child.
When she was only four years old, her mother encouraged her to try out for a men’s team, just one court away. Mace was successful and her new team was picked by West Ham, where she played for a year.
Then, at the age of six, she got the chance to join Arsenal.
The gunman’s impact on her is palpable. Her technical abilities were outstanding, especially her ability to use her feet, which she remembers being very much emphasised at Arsenal.
For Arsenal’s academy, technique comes after technique, which has helped Metz develop not only a talented young player, but a very well-rounded player.
“I used to play right-back when I was five or six,” said the 18-year-old. “Then when I went to Arsenal, you needed to play in different positions, every game was a different position. There was one game where I was a winger, then I was a left-back, and then I developed into a midfielder and centre-backs.”
The latter has gradually become her favourite position, and Metz has learned a lot about herself as a midfielder at Birmingham in the second half of last season.
“I think every young player needs to go through that before deciding what they want to do,” Metz said.
“I could go to Birmingham, but I might not be at the level of a move to Manchester City. I might have to go to the Championship. I think once I did, I said to myself: ‘If I keep working hard, then I The ability to pull off this big transfer’. I feel like it’s really decided my next move.”
Such a move would never be easy for a 17-year-old who is very close to his family, but Metz always knew it would never be easy to get to the top.
“When I was young, I used to have a one-on-one coach. He always talked to me about Ronaldo because Ronaldo had a difficult childhood and he had to work for what he had afterward,” Metz said. recalled.
“When I was young, I used to idolize Ronaldo because I felt his journey was a lot harder than mine, but my journey was still tough and I had family and other things to think about.”
Adjusting to a move to Manchester – by far the toughest of Metz’s career – her first summer at City has been an odd one. Only a handful of players are training and there are no preseason games scheduled because there are so many players involved in the Olympics and some injured.
But it has given Mays the opportunity to spend a day with England international Alex Greenwood, which she and manager Gareth Taylor have stressed is very valuable.
“I have a lot of admiration for Alex,” Mace said. “I think she’s a really good role model for me, she’s always helping me. She’s always coaching me in training, even if sometimes I’m not doing what I need to do. She’ll come and make sure I’m okay, and I feel in her Being around makes my game better, which is really good.”
“For me, I have six months to show that I don’t need to go out on loan. I’ve spoken to Gareth about this and it’s been my main goal this season, to prove to him that I’m good enough, in training I worked hard and proved that I didn’t need to be a loan player.”
Metz has come a long way in this regard over the past few months. She made her Premier League debut for Manchester City in November and has since played all four times in the League and Continental Cup.
Metz has shown she is ready to play for City’s first team this season and long into the future, and City believe they have brought in a player with a real bright future.