Dasilva: My trial and error in United shirt

JOSH DASILVA knew he had put his foot in it when he turned up for his Arsenal trial at the age of eight – in a Manchester United shirt.

But the kid from Ilford, Essex recovered to spend 12 years at Arsenal – and there is still enough Gooner about the Brentford midfielder to give tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final clash against north London rivals Tottenham an extra edge.

Dasilva, whose superb goal knocked out Newcastle in the quarter-finals, still remembers that first day.

“I could feel a few of the kids and the players looking at me – but it was the only kit I had,” he recalled.

“When you’ve got a scout telling you, ‘I’m taking you on trial to Arsenal’ you don’t think about what to wear. I didn’t care. But it was funny.”

Dasilva believes being tutored by Gunners legend Thierry Henry, who coached the Arsenal youth teams from 2015 after he retired as a player, helped turn him from a schoolboy striker to the £6million-rated midfielder he is today.

The 22-year-old (above) said: “Thierry helped a lot. I made the transition from being a striker to a midfielder.

“I didn’t really know what the credentials were for being a midfielder. But they sat me down and went through lots of clips. Learning from someone like him, who has been at the top of the game, is priceless.

“It was the academy manager Andries Jonker who moved me to midfield, not Thierry.

“He saw I had something, but there were things I could improve. You’re learning from Thierry Henry. Even if you are a centre-back or a goalkeeper, you pick up things.”

Dasilva made only three League Cup appearances for the Gunners before turning down a new deal in the summer of 2018 and moving to Brentford on a free transfer.

“Leaving Arsenal was the right decision for me - I was there for 12 years, and I wanted to play men’s football,” he said.