Josh Robinson signs for Wigan Athletic ✍️
Wigan Athletic have signed Josh Robinson from Arsenal on a three-and-a-half year deal.
Wigan Athletic have signed Josh Robinson from Arsenal on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Robinson becomes Shaun Maloney’s first signing of the January transfer window and adds depth to our defensive options as a centre-back or right-back.
With little senior experience under his belt, Robinson is an unproven talent but has been noted as an Arsenal youngster with plenty of potential.
🗓️ Born: 20th December 2004 (Age: 20)
👕 Position: Defender. Predominantly a right-back.
👟 Strong Foot: Right
Part One: An overview of Robinson’s career.
Part Two: Robinson’s role at Wigan.
An overview of Robinson’s career ⚽️
East London-born Josh Robinson joined the Arsenal Academy in March 2016 when he was just 11 years old. He had previously been on trial at Crystal Palace after Arsenal initially rejected him. However, he turned down the chance to join the Eagles when the Gunners eventually offered him a place.
The defender used to be an avid swimmer but got involved in football after watching people play around Leyton and catching the bug.
Robinson gained valuable early experience at Sunday League level, playing on the wings and in the midfield for Romford Colts. Watching inspirations such as former Bayern Munich and Juventus wide man Douglas Costa and the skilful Paul Pogba further strengthened the Englishman’s love for the sport. 🔎
Prior to signing a scholarship deal in 2021, Robinson was moved to full-back/wing-back after the coaches felt confident in his ability to run the channel while maintaining strong defensive duties.
“My time at Hale End [Pre-Academy] was amazing and I’ve got so much to thank all the staff there for. I was a good player when I joined Arsenal, but my technical ability wasn’t there and that’s something I’ve developed here.
I understand the game so much better and I feel like I’ve got the ability to play under pressure now. I’ve gained so much experience from my time here and there’s no way that I’d be where I am today without Arsenal.”
Josh Robinson speaking to Arsenal after joining the Under 18s
Robinson made his Under 18s debut in the U18 Premier League against Reading in March 2021. A 4-3 victory got him off to a winning start, but he made just two more appearances in the competition in the 2020/21 season. A 1-1 draw against Leicester City and a 6-1 victory over Reading added to his unbeaten tally.
The defender became a regular for the Under 18s in the 2021/22 season, making 23 appearances in the 26-game U18 Premier League campaign. Robinson helped the Gunners to 6 clean sheets and scored his first goal against Aston Villa on March 3rd 2022. ⚽️
Arsenal finished the campaign in 4th place with 14 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses.
The 2022/23 U18 Premier League campaign was a difficult one for Robinson as injuries prevented him from playing more than 12 games. When he was involved, he completed 90 minutes in each game but the young Gunners fell to 11th at the end of the season with just 6 wins, 5 draws, and 11 losses.
Robinson featured in five of Arsenal’s six FA Youth Cup games on their way to the Final with starts in the Third Round, Quarter Final, Semi Final, and Final. After helping the Gunners beat Millwall, Newcastle United, Cambridge United, and Manchester City, it was West Ham United who were victorious at the Emirates Stadium to lift the trophy. 💔
Over the Summer of 2013, Josh Robinson signed his first professional contract with Arsenal and moved to the Under 21s.
Unfortunately, injuries meant that the defender could only make four appearances in the Premier League 2 campaign, along with two involvements in the UEFA Youth League and one start in the EFL Trophy Second Round against Peterborough United.
Robinson’s first goal for the Under 21s game at home to Leeds United on February 9th 2024 in the 54th minute. Current Blackburn Rovers loanee, Amario Cozier-Duberry, provided the assist. ⚽️
“Scoring my first league goal for the under-21s against Leeds United was a great moment, especially given that I’d been out for so long with injury, and it earned us a point on the day too.”
Josh Robinson reflecting on the 2023/24 U21s season
The first half of the 2024/25 season was an exciting one for Robinson, as he was not only involved in each of Arsenal’s ten Premier League 2 fixtures to show that his injuries may be behind him, but he made the bench in four of Mikel Arteta’s Champions League squads. 🏆
In October, Robinson sat on the bench at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal beat Paris Saint Germain 2-0, and then took up the same spot to watch the Gunners beat Shakhtar Donetsk.
He travelled with the squad to Inter Milan in November, where they lost 1-0, before taking up another front-row seat at the Emirates in December as Monaco fell to a 3-0 defeat.
Robinson also featured in each of Arsenal U21s three EFL Trophy Group Stage fixtures this season to play Leyton Orient, MK Dons, and Colchester United.
The defender started against Richie Wellens’ O’s and opened the scoring after just three minutes with a lob over the keeper from 35+ yards out.
After receiving the ball from the centre-back on the edge of his own penalty area, Robinson used his pace to carry the ball towards the halfway line before slotting a ball through to Ismeal Kabia. Goalkeeper, Sam Howes, reacted quickly to reach the ball first and kick it out, but it fell back to Robinson who could try his luck on goal.
“A progressive defender who can operate both centrally and at right back. Josh has previously played higher up the pitch as a winger and still loves to get forward. An England youth international, Josh is a tireless, hard worker who dominates in one-on-one situations, is good in duels and makes key blocks.”
Arsenal’s bio of Josh Robinson
Robinson’s role at Wigan 🤝
As far as first signings of a window go, Josh Robinson joining Wigan Athletic is certainly an interesting one.
Since the Summer window opened around six months ago, supporters have been hoping for experienced players to join the ranks to help us in our second League One campaign since being relegated from the Championship.
Robinson has very little experience in senior football, but he joins with plenty of praise from his time at Arsenal’s Academy and certainly caught the eye of Mikel Arteta.
In terms of what we can expect from Robinson, I very much doubt that Shaun Maloney will utilise him as a central defender. With Jason Kerr, Will Aimson, Toby Sibbick, and James Carragher as the more experienced and natural options, we can expect Robinson to develop as a right-back and eventually compete for a starting place.
Wigan Athletic’s current full back options.
Paul Dummett (Age: 33) - Out of contract in January
Toby Sibbick (Age: 25)
Steven Sessegnon (Age: 24) - Out of contract in Summer
Luke Robinson (Age: 23) - Out of contract in Summer
James Carragher (Age: 22)
Calvin Ramsay (Age: 21) - On loan from Liverpool
Luke Chambers (Age: 20) - On loan from Liverpool
As you can see from the list above, Latics currently have seven players who can be categorised as full-backs from what we have seen Maloney deploy so far. Scott Smith is a versatile midfielder who can fill in at right-back or left-back, but for the purpose of this piece, I have not included him in this list.
Paul Dummett’s contract is set to expire during this window and there are very few signs - if any - that it will be extended. Steven Sessegnon and Luke Robinson are out of contract in the summer, and Calvin Ramsay and Luke Chambers are only with us on loan.
The signing of Josh Robinson suggests that Gregor Rioch, Jake Campbell, Stephen Gormal, and Shaun Maloney are preparing for the future early with a view to building the defender up over the next six months to become more involved next season. With that, I think it is safe to expect plenty of Under-21s cameos with the occasional first-team involvement.
That said, who knows? Robinson may impress heavily in training and make a case for being involved in Maloney’s 18-man matchday squad. Time will tell.
Three current Wigan Athletic players who have been in the same squad as Robinson already are Matt Smith, Silko Thomas and Michael Olakigbe. The latter duo were involved in England U18s October 2021 friendly against Russia U18s, with Olakigbe playing on the right wing ahead of Robinson. Thomas remained an unused substitute. 🏴
Matt Smith was a squad member with Robinson for the 2022/23 Premier League 2 campaign at Arsenal, but they didn’t play in any games together.
I am looking forward to seeing how Robinson settles into life as a ‘Tic, and what he can achieve during his time at the club.
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Josh Robinson!
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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