Calcutta has scored a London goal with English Premier League biggie Arsenal setting up eastern India's first Arsenal Soccer School in town.

DPS Megacity is the home of the maiden academy, several more of which are scheduled to open elsewhere in the next few months.

The Arsenal Soccer Schools programme, which started in 1985, had fully functional camps in six other states before coming to Bengal. These centres are a collaborative effort between Arsenal Football Club and India on Track (IOT), a sports development and management firm. "We had approached Chelsea and Manchester United as well, but Arsenal showed more interest," said Rohan Chopra, co-founder of IOT.

Arsenal, nicknamed the Gunners, is one of the largest and most successful football clubs of England with 13 Premier League titles, 12 FA Cups and two League Cups in the cabinet. Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Viera are some of the biggest names to have donned the red-and-white jersey. In the 2003-04 season, Arsenal became the only English club to win the Premier League without losing a single match, earning the moniker "The Invincibles".

Arsenal's India tie-up happened in 2013 and has since spawned 25 centres across six states. "Calcutta's first is the 26th in the country. We wanted to build a strong foundation in the country before entering Calcutta, Goa and Kerala, the traditional strongholds of football," Rohan said.

Technical director David Moliner Monedero, who once played for Spanish club Valencia CF and is currently a UEFA Pro licensed coach, spearheads the programme in India. While David is the bridge, the Calcutta centre will see one of its own calling the shots for now.

Yan Law, 23, is not only one of the youngest certified coaches in Bengal but also holds an FA (UEFA) licence. He had represented India U-19 before deciding to follow in his father's footsteps as a coach. "I have been an Arsenal fan all my life. In 2008, I was picked to go to London and train there for a month after impressing their coaches in a tournament. So when I got this offer, I didn't even have to think twice," smiled Yan, who also coaches a host of local clubs, including George Telegraph in the Premier Division.

The Arsenal Soccer School currently has only DPS Megacity students, but might be opened to anyone between the ages of five to 17 in future. Training takes place thrice a week after school and those who enlist get a full Arsenal kit. In just a week, registrations have touched 40.

So when can we expect to see an Indian playing for Arsenal? "I think we need at least six to seven years before anything like that happens!" quipped Rohan.

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