Arsenal Women’s Ruby Grant celebrated her 19th birthday this week and at such a young age has already enjoyed so much success on and off the pitch.

Josh Bunting gives the lowdown on one of England’s future stars.

Grant, who plays as a midfielder, has signed a deal with the University of North Carolina in the USA and will leave the Gunners at the end of the 2019/20 season, if indeed it does get completed in time due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The teenager played for the Gunners against Lewes in the FA Cup in February as Arsenal won 2-0 thanks to a debut Caitlin Foord strike and a late Danielle Van De Donk goal.

And Grant certainly impressed with her constant running and enthusiasm, which earned her plaudits from the Arsenal supporters.

Last season was her breakthrough campaign when she played 198 minutes with the first team, making two starts and coming coming off the bench on three occasions.

Grant made her Arsenal Women’s Super League debut against Everton in a 4-0 victory in November 2018, replacing Jordan Nobbs who had to go off with an injury that ruled her out for the long-term.

And she scored her first hat-trick in Arsenal colours against Crawley Wasps on her FA Cup debut in 2019 as fans became well aware of her talents.

After securing the match ball Grant was subsequently named the player of the round for her impressive display and manager Joe Montemurro heaped praise on the youngster.

He said: “She’s a good little player. She’s very busy around the middle and wide areas and she got into some very dangerous positions.

“The service for her was very good and I think it’s safe to say that we were in control from the start. It was a good outing for us with regards to our planning and making sure that we came through unscathed.”

Grant has also had a successful international career as she was part the England Under-17s European Championship squad last season which made it Bulgaria.

However, they were eliminated at the group stage despite finishing with six points due to their head-to-head to head record against Germany and the Netherlands.

Grant will link up with three other English players when she makes her move to North Carolina, including former Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, Lois Joel and Alessio Russo, who recently made her England senior debut against Spain at the SheBelieves Cup.