I made my Arsenal first-team debut when I was 20 and scored the winning goal… 18 years later I’m helping out in the IT department
DANNY KARBASSIYOON has evolved from full-back wizard to net wizard since his return to Arsenal.
The 38-year-old American joined the Gunners in 2003 from US amateur club Roanoke Star, where he played for the youth teams.
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Originally deployed as a striker, the left-footed maestro was repurposed as a full-back.
And he was rewarded with a first-team debut in October 2004 in the third round of the League Cup at Manchester City.
The former USA Under-18 international made an instant impression from the bench when he fired a shot into the far post in the 90th minute after Cesc Fabregas had passed it through.
It turned out to be the winner after Robbie Fowler fired in a free-kick moments later at the Etihad.
Karbassiyoon made two more appearances for Arsenal in the League Cup against Everton and Manchester United, to whom Arsene Wenger’s side were eliminated.
In November 2004, the defender was loaned out to Ipswich, where he made five appearances for the Tractor Boys.
After failing to establish himself in Wenger’s side due to Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy, Karbassiyoon was sacked in 2005 where he joined forces with Burnley.
However, he only made five appearances due to injuries, his contract ended a year later and after an unsuccessful trial with AZ Alkmaar, Karbassiyoon retired in early 2007 at the age of 22 due to recurring knee problems.
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However, he stayed true to the beautiful game and became Arsenal’s scout for the Americas region, where he is credited for bringing Gedion Zelalem and Joel Campbell to the club.
After leaving the company to start a successful online gaming business, he rejoined Arsenal where he now works as a product manager in the IT department.
His role combines his knowledge of footballer scouting and technology, where he assists technical director Edu and the recruitment team.
Speak with Arsenal website Speaking of his role, he said: “Essentially, I lead the direction and design of both of our bespoke, in-house platforms.”
“The first is our recruitment platform which is geared towards the players we want to bring to the club and is run by Edu and the recruitment team.
“Second, the academy is driven by our coaches, our sports science team, our medical staff, and our strength and conditioning team.
“They are both unique to us at Arsenal and I was able to combine my experience from my time as a scout with my knowledge of technique and development.”
He continued, “When Edu first came in as technical director, he had to make three or four different calls if he wanted information about a specific target or a new player.”
“He called the StatDNA guys, the scouts, the analysts — it was going to take a while. My solution was to have all this information readily available by simply typing a player’s name into a database.”
“It’s a bit more sophisticated in terms of providing the different stakeholders with the information relevant and relevant to them, but basically everything is brought together on one usable platform.”
Karbassiyoon added: “I’m part of the IT department, so technically at Highbury House, but I also work closely with the Colney guys and am usually there a couple of times a week.”
“I work across departments, which is great because of course there is also input from the medical team, recruiting, sports science and edu.”