The 21-year-old was on Arsenal’s bench in the Champions League semis
League of Ireland champions Shelbourne have signed 21-year-old Arsenal Jack Henry-Francis, the midfielder who played an unexpected starring role in the Gunners’ All or Nothing Amazon documentary.
Henry-Francis, who played at underage level for Republic of Ireland, began his youth career at Fulham before joining Arsenal’s academy at 13. He was also recently on the bench for Arsenal in their Champions League semi-final against PSG, and signs for Shels on a multi-year deal.
Henry-Francis had a promising loan spell at Sligo Rovers last year, making 11 appearances, and is now back in Ireland’s top division.
And some Arsenal fans will remember how Henry-Francis was the man at the centre of a famous bust up between striker Alexandre Lacazette and defender Cedric Soares in 2022.
In a training session filmed for the documentary, Lacazette kicked out at Henry-Francis after the youngster had brilliantly stolen the ball back from him, prompting Cedric to square up to the Frenchman.
Lacazette then grabbed the throat of Cedric, before team-mates got involved to break it up.
Shels face Qarabag in the Champions League second qualifying round first leg on Wednesday after squeezing past Linfield this week.
Upon signing for Shels, Henry-Francis said: “Delighted to sign for Shelbourne and can’t wait to get started here. After speaking to Joey and everyone at the club it felt like the place for me to further my career. I’m looking forward to some important matches coming up and excited to see the fans.”
Shels manager Joey O’Brien said: “Jack’s a really talented midfielder with a brilliant foundation, coming through at Arsenal and spending time around their first team has given him a great grounding in the game. His loan at Sligo Rovers gave him real exposure to senior football in this league, and he impressed in every game.
“We’re thrilled he’s chosen to join us at a really exciting time for the club. We believe this is the perfect environment for him to keep developing, and we’re confident he can grow into a top-class midfielder here.”
