Former Arsenal player hailed as a ‘massive talent’ jailed for four years
Former Arsenal player Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been jailed for four years after trying to smuggle £600,000 of cannabis into the United Kingdom.
According to a report from The Telegraph, the former Arsenal prodigy was arrested in September when he was found carrying 60 kg of cannabis by the border force officers.
The player tricked his girlfriend into carrying drugs
Along with Emmanuel-Thomas, his girlfriend, Yasmin Piotrowska, was caught by the border force officers as well. The report claims that the 34-year-old had tricked his girlfriend and her friend Rosie Rowland into carrying the suitcases vacuum packed with cannabis.
The women have both walked free as they were told that they were carrying gold, but the former Arsenal prodigy will now spend four years in prison. The 34-year-old was highly rated by former Arsenal manager and club legend Arsene Wenger. He was regarded as one of the finest young talents at the club during that time, and he was a key player for Arsenal when they won the FA Youth Cup in 2009.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was a huge talent
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in action (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Wenger described the player as a massive talent and someone with outstanding qualities. However, he never quite managed to fulfil his potential, and the importation charge has left him disgraced as a former professional footballer.
“He has the build you dream to have,” Wenger once said. “When his fitness is right, Jay will be not only a good player, but a great player. One thing is for sure – he can score goals. That is a massive talent you cannot give to people. His right foot, his left foot, he is unbelievable in front of goal.”
After leaving Arsenal, the player ended up at Ipswich Town and then Bristol City. Emmanuel-Thomas has also played for clubs like Queens Park Rangers, Milton Keynes Dons, Gillingham, Rayong, Livingston, Aberdeen, Jamshedpur in India and Kidderminster Harriers.
The player joined Greenock Morton in July last year, and he was arrested shortly after, but his professional footballing career seems all but over now.
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