Jay Emmanuel-Thomas  Jay Aston Emmanuel-Thomas (born 27 December 1990) is an English footballer who plays as a forward. A product of the Arsenal Academy, he is a versatile forward and can play as a winger or striker. Born in London to a St. Lucian mother and a Dominican father, Emmanuel-Thomas is a midfielder who has also played as left back, left winger and centre-forward. He was at Arsenal from the age of eight, when he was spotted playing for his father's team by a "Gunners" scout, who invited him for dinner. He became captain of the under-18 youth team when he was just 16 years old. In the summer of 2008 he signed his first professional contract with the club. On 6 August 2008 he played in Arsenal's pre-season friendly 2–1 win over Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium. Three days later he played for the first team in their 1–1 draw with Spanish La Liga side Sevilla in the pre-season Amsterdam Tournament at the Amsterdam Arena. In the 2008–09 season he made 39 appearances for both the youth and reserve teams, scoring seven goals. He captained the youth team as they were crowned Premier Academy League champions. They were first in Group A and after beating Group C winners Manchester City 2–1 in the semi-finals, they beat club rivals Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 in the play-off final on 17 May 2009 at White Hart Lane. He also played a big part in the youth team winning the 2008–09 FA Youth Cup, in which he scored in every round. Arsenal beat Liverpool 6–2 on aggregate in the two-legged final, with Emmanuel-Thomas captaining the side and also scoring in the 4–1 first leg win at the Emirates Stadium. He thus attained the Youth Premiership and FA Cup double together with the rest of the club's youth team that year. He also formed part of the squad in first team matches during the 2008–09 season on two occasions. Firstly, on 23 September 2008 in "the Gunners"' 6–0 League Cup victory over Sheffield United. Then again in Arsenal's 3–0 Premier League victory over Portsmouth on 2 May 2009. Emmanuel-Thomas was an unused substitute for the Premier League games against Burnley on 16 December and Hull City three days later as well as Everton on 9 January 2010. On 18 December he signed a new long-term contract. He scored a hat-trick for the reserves in their 4–2 Premier Reserve League South win over West Ham United at Upton Park on 12 January 2010.