Bless Akolbire is ready to prove Chelsea wrong at Arsenal.

The teen failed in trials with Chelsea before winning a deal with the Gunners.

Akolbire told arsenal.com: "I have a really close relationship with my older brother, Lordon, who is four years older than me. When Colchester United wanted to take him on trial, they saw me play a couple of matches and also offered me a trial for my age group, the under-10s.

"To have an older brother who plays football is a blessing because he can always offer me advice on his experiences and we have a friendly rivalry where we try to help each other become better players. Thankfully, we both got signed and it was a proud moment for both of us and our family.

"However, I would only be at Colchester for two seasons. I had to leave because it was too far from where I lived in Tottenham. I went back to White Star, worked really hard and after an unsuccessful trial with Chelsea, I was offered a trial at Arsenal which went really well.

"When I got the official confirmation that Arsenal wanted to sign me, I was overjoyed because just a year earlier, I had to leave Colchester but now I was at Arsenal!

"Now I have my scholarship and I just can't believe how my life has changed from only a couple of years ago, when I didn't get through that trial at Chelsea. It makes me feel very proud to have my scholarship but I know there is still lots more work to be done if I want to achieve my goal of playing for Arsenal's first team."