The making of Austin Lipman

AUSTIN LIPMAN admits his world could have come tumbling down when he was released by Arsenal, after spending 14 years with his boyhood club. But he insists he could not be happier now as his life has been transformed by Jewish football, and he is embracing his religion more than ever.

Now aged 23, Lipman was spotted by Arsenal scouts playing for Redbridge under-sixes on Fairlop Oak. He made such an impression that his parents were handed a card by club officials and he was invited for a trial. “Ever since that day I felt like an Arsenal player,” recalled Lipman.

He acknowledged football helped to shape him during his childhood. “It was a great time, when you can play a sport better than others,” he said. “Football was a hobby that I loved. It can help to make you popular at school and gives you positive feelings that you may not experience otherwise.”

One of Lipman’s first coaches at Arsenal was club legend Liam Brady. “He visited me in school and asked if I would be prepared to leave a year early,” recalled Lipman. “My parents and the school gave me the casting vote and I decided to stay on at Brentwood school, where I’d been admitted on a sports scholarship.”

A conscientious pupil, Lipman enjoyed his hectic weekday schedule, although at times combining football and his education became a juggling act. “Initially, school had been my main driver and football was my hobby but then my hobby turned into my lifestyle and it became all about the football. Playing for Arsenal youth affected my schooling quite heavily as I had to commit to training for two hours, three times a week.”

Lipman eventually left school aged 16 and turned full-time less than a year later, initially starting with a two-month scholarship before signing a three-year pro contract on his 17th birthday.

During this time, he also earned eight caps for England, playing in qualifiers and friendlies at U16 and U17 level.

But he acknowledges his commitment to football came at a cost. “I’d made many sacrifices and couldn’t do a lot of things my peers did,” said Lipman. “I moved out of home aged 16, which compromised my family life and put strains on every kind of relationship.

“I also shared a property with Alex Iwobi and we remain great friends. He’s worked hard and I’m very happy he’s made it into the Arsenal first team.”

Lipman, who describes Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp as his “idols” also worked with other former Arsenal stars, Steve Gatting and Steve Bould, and he met former boss Arsene Wenger, “but it was never more than that,” he said.

He described the atmosphere at Arsenal as “very relaxed and laid back. “But to make it at the highest level you have to be individually driven, so I trained as hard as I possibly could.”

Lipman went on to represent Arsenal in Uefa U19 Youth League – visiting Emirates, Stamford Bridge, St James’s Park, Olympiacos and Athletic Bilbao. However, his dreams of making it in the Premier League were quashed when he left Arsenal just before his 20th birthday. He nodded intently and said: “I knew