Ben Sheaf

Benjamin David Sheaf (born 5 February 1998) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Doncaster Rovers on loan from Arsenal. He has represented England at youth level.

Ben Sheaf
Sheaf in 2015
Personal information
Full name Benjamin David Sheaf[1]
Date of birth (1998-02-05) 5 February 1998[2]
Place of birth Dartford, England[3]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Midfielder[2]
Club information
Current team
 Doncaster Rovers
(on loan from Arsenal)
Number 6
Youth career
2011–2014 West Ham United
2014–2017 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Arsenal 0 (0)
2018 → Stevenage (loan) 10 (0)
2019– → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 29 (2)
National team
2013–2014 England U16
2015 England U18 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:51, 21 February 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Sheaf started his youth career with the reserves of West Ham United at the age of 13,[4] before joining the Arsenal youth setup on 2 July 2014.[5] He earned the praise of senior team manager Arsène Wenger who said that Sheaf was "always ahead of the game".[6] He scored his first goal for the Arsenal U19 in a 3–2 victory over Greek club Olympiacos on 29 September 2015, where he found the net in the 41st minute from the penalty spot.[7]

In October 2015, Sheaf was invited to train with the first team,[8] and days later he was an unused substitute in the club's 3–0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.[9] He stated that, although the result was not satisfactory, the experience of being involved in the first-team was good for him as he got to "see how things are done".[10] He made his first-team debut for Arsenal on 19 October 2017, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Francis Coquelin in a 1–0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Europa League.[11]

Sheaf joined League Two side Stevenage on loan on 26 January 2018, joining the Hertfordshire club on a deal until the end of the 2017–18 season.[12]

Sheaf joined League One side Doncaster Rovers on loan on 12 July 2019, joining the League One side for six months.[13][14] The deal was extended until the end of the 2019–20 season on 7 January 2020.[15]

International career

Sheaf debuted for England under-16 team in the Victory Shield. As of July 2014, he has played twice for the under-16 national team.[4] He was part of the England U18's which played a couple of friendlies against the Netherlands in September 2015. They won 2–0 in the first game which Sheaf scored a penalty[16] and drew the second game 0–0.

Personal life

Sheaf comes from a sporting family. His mother was a top-level volleyball and beach volleyball player, and his older brother Jake is also a professional beach volleyball player. Sheaf's father was a footballer at county level while his younger brother Max is a former Arsenal player and current Hull City player.[10]

Career statistics
As of match played 4 November 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2017–18[2] Premier League 0000101[lower-alpha 1]00020
2018–19[17] Premier League 000000001[lower-alpha 2]010
Arsenal total 000010101030
Stevenage (loan) 2017–18[2] League Two 10000——00100
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2019–20[18] League One 1803010—2[lower-alpha 3]0240
Career total 28030201030370
  1. Appearance in Europa League
  2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy for Arsenal U21 Squad
  3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "List of Temporary Transfers of Players under Written Contract Between 01/01/2018 and 31/01/2018". The Football Association. p. 27. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. Ben Sheaf at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  3. "Ben Sheaf". Arsenal.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  4. "Arsenal sign West Ham wonderkid Ben Sheaf". All Arsenal. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. "Arsenal raid West Ham to sign England Under-16 midfielder Ben Sheaf". Metro. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. "Arsene Wenger makes huge claim about Arsenal defender". Express. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. "Youth League: Arsenal 3-2 Olympiacos". Arsenal F.C. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. "Who is Ben Sheaf? The Arsenal starlet profiled after he takes part in first-team training". Mirror. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  9. "Arsenal pay high price in Sheffield Wednesday nightmare". Daily Cannon. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. "Feature: Ben Sheaf". Arsenal F.C. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  11. Steinberg, Jacob (19 October 2017). "Red Star Belgrade v Arsenal: Europa League – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  12. "Ben Sheaf joins from Arsenal on loan". Stevenage F.C. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  13. "Ben Sheaf joins from Arsenal on loan". Arsenal F.C. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  14. "Doncaster Rovers: Arsenal youngster Ben Sheaf agrees six-month loan deal". BBC Sport. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  15. "Club News Sheaf extends loan until end of the season". Doncaster Rovers. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  16. Association, The Football. "Ben Sheaf and Kazaiah Sterling help England see off Holland". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  17. "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  18. "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
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