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Elián Quesada-Thorn

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Elián Quesada-Thorn
Personal information
Full name Kristopher Elián Quesada-Thorn
Date of birth (2005-02-19) 19 February 2005 (age 19)
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 59
Youth career
Years Team
0000–2015 Whetstone Wanderers
2015– Arsenal

Kristopher Elián Quesada-Thorn (born 19 February 2005) is a footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Arsenal. Born in England, he has played unofficial youth international matches for Costa Rica.

Club career

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Quesada-Thorn began playing football when he was two or three years old, where he played with his father at indoor football camps, during a time where he could hardly walk. He joined his first Sunday league club Whetstone Wanderers in Woodside Park, London when he was six years old.[1] Quesada-Thorn played for Whetstone Wanderers for "a good five years or so" until he played against an Arsenal academy team when he was twelve years old; he claimed to have played really well on the day and Arsenal invited him to trial with the club. After a successful trial with Arsenal, he joined the club in 2015, despite previously trialing with the Reading, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur academies.[1][2]

Quesada-Thorn made his EFL Trophy debut for the Arsenal under-21 team on 20 September 2022 against Ipswich Town, he started the game at left back which ended in a 2–0 away loss at Portman Road.[3] In March 2023, he suffered a stress fracture in his back, ruling him out of the remainder of the 2022–23 academy season.[4] He signed his first professional contract with the club on 6 July 2023, stating that "I’ve been dreaming of this [signing the contract] from when I was a young kid at Hale End, so it’s a great moment for me."[5]

International career

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Quesada-Thorn is eligible to represent four different countries in international football, Costa Rica through his father, Sweden through his maternal grandfather, the Republic of Ireland through his maternal grandmother, and England as his country of birth.[1]

In January 2022, Quesada was called up to the Costa Rica national under-20 team to participate in two unofficial friendly games against Mexico.[6] In an interview before playing for the Costa Rica under-20 team, he claimed that the other nations had not yet reached out to the player, instead that he has only held conversations with the Costa Rican Football Federation.[7] In an interview with ESPN Deportes, Quesada-Thorn's father claimed that his son was "very happy and excited" to have the opportunity to play with the youth international team.[8] In September 2023, he was called up to the Costa Rica senior team to play friendlies against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates;[9] he did not feature in either match as he withdrew from the squad due to injury.[10]

Personal life

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Quesada-Thorn is a boyhood Arsenal fan, upon signing his first professional contract with the club, he stated on 6 July 2023 that "I'm a boyhood fan, as soon as they offered [the contract], I feel like there was no question".[5]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 20 September 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Arsenal U21 2022–23[11] — — — — 1[a] 0 1 0
Career total — — — 1 0 1 0
  1. ^ Appearance in EFL Trophy

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Young Gun: Elian Quesada-Thorn". Arsenal F.C. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ Lewis, Reinaldo (27 November 2020). "Elián Quesada: una promesa que se forja en el Arsenal" [Elián Quesada: a promise that is forged in Arsenal]. deportescr.net (in Spanish). Noticias de Deportes Costa Rica. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  3. ^ Gilbert, Samuel (20 September 2022). "Report: Ipswich Town 2-0 Arsenal U21". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Arsenal lose Coast Rica U20 winger Elian Quesada-Thorn for remainder of season". Tribal Football. OneFootball. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Elian Quesada-Thorn has signed his first professional contract with the club". Arsenal F.C. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  6. ^ Lopez, Jonathan (20 January 2022). "Elián Quesada, la joya de Costa Rica que juega en el Arsenal Sub-18" [Elián Quesada, the jewel of Costa Rica who plays for Arsenal U-18]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Promotora de Informaciones, S.A. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  7. ^ Araya, José (26 January 2022). "Elián Quesada, tico en liga menor del Arsenal: "Estoy feliz de recibir la convocatoria"" [Elián Quesada, Tico in Arsenal's minor league: "I'm happy to receive the call"]. teletica.com (in Spanish). Televisora de Costa Rica S.A. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  8. ^ Muñoz, Keish (19 January 2022). "Elián Quesada vive con mucho "nerviosismo" su primer acercamiento real con La Sele" [Elián Quesada lives his first real approach with La Sele with a lot of "nervousness"]. espndeportes.espn.com (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  9. ^ Wright, Stephen (5 September 2023). "Quesada-Thorn called up to Costa Rica squad". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  10. ^ Meza, Adrián (1 September 2023). "Arsenal reporta lesión de Elián Quesada, tico no podrá asistir a su primer convocatoria con La Sele" [Arsenal reports injury to Elián Quesada, Tico will not be able to attend his first call-up with La Sele]. amprensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Games played by Elian Quesada Thorn in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
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