Ayden Heaven is one of several Hale End Academy talents who has caught Mikel Arteta’s eye ahead of a potential Arsenal breakthrough.
The youngster has featured on the first-team bench on several occasions, whilst he also featured alongside Arsenal’s senior stars in the last pre-season tour in the USA.
Fans were impressed by Ayden Heaven as he looked assured in the back line, and he will hope the experience eventually leads to a full debut for the club.
There is a lot of competition in Heaven’s position, but there are a lot of games this season, and the Carabao Cup could provide an opportunity for him to shine.
But just who is Heaven? Here’s a look at everything you need to know about the wonderkid from his age and height to his position and stats.
How old is Ayden Heaven?
Heaven was born on 22nd September 2006, which makes him 18 years old at the time of writing, with the teenager yet to make his first-team debut.
How tall is Ayden Heaven?
Heaven is approximately 1.89 metres tall, which is around six feet and two inches tall, bringing a lot of height and physicality to the team.
What position does Ayden Heaven play?
The 18-year-old is predominantly a centre-back, with the vast majority of his appearances coming in the centre of defence.
Heaven is left-footed and typically plays on the left side of his centre-back partnerships. He has also played at left-back and even at left midfield on a few rare occasions.
What Nationality is Ayden Heaven?
Heaven was born in London, and has represented the England under-19 team in two friendlies, but is yet to feature competitively for any of the International youth sides.
Ayden Heaven’s Arsenal story so far
The defender was one of several academy stars who featured in pre-season with the first team, and Heaven was even selected to start against Manchester United in July 2024.
However, Heaven was overpowered by striker Rasmus Hojlund, who scored for Man United, but the youngster then bounced back superbly to deliver a strong performance after his error, drawing praise from Mikel Arteta.
“Very impressive. At 17, I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this,” Arteta stated of Heaven after the friendly victory against Man United.
“He’s lost a duel against one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen, but the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him.”
Heaven has made 20 appearances for the Arsenal under-21s and was on the bench for the first-team in away games at FC Porto and Tottenham Hotspur.
If Heaven can continue to impress at youth level, then he will eye up the Carabao Cup as a competition in which he could potentially make his debut.
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