Arsenal’s academy talent Reuell Walters initially rose to notoriety away from the pitch, with the defender raking in thousands of pounds through videogame Fortnite, it has been revealed.
The Young Gun has enjoyed a strong season in north London, and has been training with the first team as well as making the matchday squads, though he is yet to be handed his competitive debut in an Arsenal shirt.
As per the Athletic, the versatile defender (who is largely a right back) is ‘being prepped’ for a role in the first team, though quite where he fits in among the current stars that the Gunners boast is unclear.
But there is another, more surprising side to his story, involving videogame Fortnite.
The Epic Games title was one of the biggest games in the world between 2017 and 2019, and continues to draw in over 80m monthly gamers due to it’s ease to play and cartoon-like graphics.
It also earned Walters a hefty chunk of change.
How popular? Well, according to the Athletic, ‘250 million people globally played it in one week’, and the commission that the young defender made peaked at over $11,000 (over £8000) in a single night.
This is not only a hefty amount, but likely more than his Arsenal scholarship contract, with that type of contract traditionally ranging from between £4000-£7000 per year.
With a bright future ahead of him, Walters has since given up Fortnite in a bid to make it as a professional footballer, and the youngster could be the next one to save Arsenal millions in the transfer market.
