Highlights
- Amario Cozier-Duberry impressed at youth level for Arsenal’s academy, which attracted interest from clubs across Europe.
- He eventually decided to join Brighton & Hove Albion following the expiry of his contract on 30th June 2024.
- He predominantly plays as a right-winger, and is known for his dribbling skills and ability to create chances.
Amario Cozier-Duberry has been tipped as one of the brightest young talents to come out of Arsenal in recent years. There is a lot of excitement about the 19-year-old’s potential, but after his contract with the Gunners ran out 30th June 2024, he decided to join fellow Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion. The Seagulls were able to fight off various other top European clubs to sign the former Arsenal youngster on a long-term deal.
Simon Collings of The Standard had previously reported that Arsenal were hopeful of tying down Cozier-Duberry to a contract extension, but due to assurances of first-team football at Brighton, he decided to make the switch. The Athletic revealed the talented star left the Gunners at the end of June 2024 because of a lack of a pathway into the first-team under Mikel Arteta. Cozier-Duberry’s departure is likely to be a significant blow given how much he has impressed at youth level at the Emirates. Here is everything you need to know about Fabian Hurzeler’s latest addition ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Career
Cozier-Duberry joined Arsenal when he was 14, having played grassroots football for the majority of his time as a youngster. From the age of eight, he played for Chettle Court Rangers, a local team located in North London. He impressed here, with his sparkling left-foot and willingness to win the ball back persistently, after losing it, often cited as his redeeming qualities.
After joining Arsenal at under-15 level after a successful 10-week trial, Cozier-Duberry became a highly-rated figure at Hale End very quickly. In his first full season at Arsenal, he made three appearances in the U18 Premier League, which included a goal against Aston Villa in a 5-2 victory. The following 2021/22 season saw his game time extended, as he started 20 matches, scoring four and registering four assists. He was also given three appearances in Premier League 2. Shortly after the conclusion of the season, Cozier-Duberry signed his first professional contract with the club.
His best season to date, though, came in the 2022/23 campaign, where he played 31 times, scoring 12 goals and getting eight assists. He helped his side reach the final of the FA Youth Cup, where they eventually lost to West Ham, and also made numerous substitute appearances for the first team in the Premier League and UEFA Europa League.
Cozier-Duberry came off the bench in various friendly games against the likes of Barcelona and Juventus before the 2023/24 season. However, since then, he has predominately played in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League. Overall, he has played 23 matches, scoring 13 goals and managing five assists.
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Cozier-Duberry Career Stats |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Team/Season |
Season |
Appearances |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Arsenal U18 |
2020/21 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
|
Arsenal U18/U21 |
2021/22 |
25 |
4 |
4 |
|
Arsenal U18/U21 |
2022/23 |
31 |
12 |
8 |
|
Arsenal U18/U21 |
2023/24 |
23 |
13 |
5 |
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Position
Cozier-Duberry predominantly operates as a right-winger, where he can cut onto his favoured left foot. So far this season, he has played 18 of his 23 matches on the right-hand side of Arsenal’s attack, especially in Premier League 2. The other five occasions have seen him play as a left-winger and slightly deeper as a left midfielder in a different shape. Arsenal U21 play a similar 4-3-3 shape to the first-team, with Cozier-Duberry linking up with the likes of Ismeal Kabia and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji in attack.
Over the course of his career, the 19-year-old has also played in a central role as an attacking midfielder. However, in the last couple of seasons, it has become clear that Arsenal are focusing his development on his ability to play out wide against defensive full-backs. Since the 2020/21 season, he has played over 80% of his matches on either the right or left wing, highlighting his specialism as an attacking wide player with the ability to play on either side.
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Stats via position – 2023/24 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Appearances |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Right Winger |
18 |
12 |
2 |
|
Left Midfield |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
Left Winger |
2 |
1 |
1 |
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Style of Play
The dribbling ability of Cozier-Duberry is one of his standout attributes. Taking on defenders with the ability to go past them on the outside but also bringing the ball on to his left-foot for a shot makes him an extremely difficult player to mark. He is not tall, measuring around 5 feet, 6 inches, and his low centre of gravity ensures that he can stay balanced when running at full speed.
When he made his first appearance for the Arsenal first-team in a pre-season friendly against Juventus, Cozier-Duberry was employed on the left wing. His ability to keep possession in tight spaces and produce threatening crosses from out wide was evident during his cameo. Jack Wilshere, who is the head coach of Arsenal U18, spoke to The Athletic in April 2024 about the ability of Cozier-Duberry. The former Arsenal midfielder said that he reminds him of Bukayo Saka. His glowing assessment of the 19-year-old’s rapid development and mature mentality was as follows:
“He’s top. We barely see him because he’s with the first-team training and Under-21s and rightly so because he deserves it. He has the humility to come back here, and by the way he’s the nicest kid and the quietest kid, but he’s with the first team.
“He reminds me of Saka with how humble he is. That’s the best way to explain his character. I think about my time here last year, when I was part of the youth cups with Max Porter and Dan Micciche, they pulled players back and it didn’t quite work. Bad nights can happen, we were 2-0 down at half time and people can look at players coming down and think, ‘He didn’t want to be there’. With this group, Amario, Reuell Walters and Lino Sousa being some of them, they’ve all been top if you ask them to come back and play.”
Brighton Win Race to Sign Cozier-Duberry
As already mentioned, Cozier-Duberry’s current contract at Arsenal ran out on 30th June 2024. Given the success of Arsenal’s first-team and the consistent performance of Saka in Cozier-Duberry’s preferred position, it is no surprise a lack of senior football opportunities in the 2024/25 season seems to have influenced his decision over his future.
Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and Brighton & Hove Albion were heavily linked with the 19-year-old. The recruitment teams at these clubs identified Cozier-Duberry as a young player in need of first-team football. The Gunners were also keen on keeping the youngster and providing a pathway into the first team for him in the coming years. However, he wasn’t convinced by Arsenal’s vision and decided to join Brighton on a four-year-deal. In the club’s announcement of the deal, Brighton’s technical director David Weir said:
“We’re really pleased to be able to bring Amario to the club. He’s got attributes we like and we believe he is a player who can flourish in our environment.
“We’re looking forward to working with him and helping his career to progress.”
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Mikel Arteta’s Opinion
In Wilshere’s interview with The Athletic discussing Cozier-Duberry, he noted that “Amario is very exciting and Mikel likes him.” Arteta had previously shown faith in the attacking winger by playing him in first-team friendlies against Lyon, AC Milan, Barcelona and Juventus. Following the 2-0 defeat to Juventus in December 2022, Arteta was asked about the debuts of Cozier-Duberry and fellow U21 star Ethan Nwaneri. He said:
“They are adapting to it. Today we had some good examples of some players that played some more minutes, so it’s good. We need to keep exposing them when there are good opportunities to see where they are right now, and it gives us a lot of information.”
Now that Arsenal have missed out on renewing Cozier-Duberry’s contract, they will be disappointed to lose out on developing a significant talent who would have been another homegrown option. The 19-year-old has showed enough at youth level that he certainly has the potential to make it far in the game, so him leaving at the end of his current contract was a bitter pill to swallow for Gunners fans and Arteta. Only time will tell just how much of a blow his exit will be though.
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Cozier Duberry’s Record at England’s Youth Teams |
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|---|---|---|
|
Team |
Appearances |
Goals |
|
England U16 |
1 |
1 |
|
England U17 |
8 |
2 |
|
England U18 |
3 |
1 |
|
England U19 |
8 |
3 |
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Information gathered from Transfermarkt.
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