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Ben Sheaf

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Ben Sheaf
Sheaf with Arsenal U21 in 2015
Personal information
Full name Benjamin David Sheaf[1]
Date of birth (1998-02-05) 5 February 1998 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Dartford, Kent, England[3]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position Defensive midfielder[2]
Team information
Current team
 Wrexham
Youth career
2011–2014 West Ham United
2014–2017 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Arsenal 0 (0)
2018 → Stevenage (loan) 10 (0)
2019–2020 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 32 (1)
2020–2021 → Coventry City (loan) 30 (0)
2021–2025 Coventry City 131 (7)
2025– Wrexham 4 (0)
International career
2013–2014 England U16
2015 England U18 2 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:39, 24 December 2024 (UTC)

Benjamin David Sheaf (born 5 February 1998) is an English footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Wrexham. He has represented England at youth level.

Club career

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Arsenal

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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]

Loan to Stevenage

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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] He made his debut in a 2–0 loss against Notts County in League Two on 24 February.[13] He made 10 appearances for the side by the end of the loan spell.[14]

Loan to Doncaster Rovers

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Sheaf joined League One side Doncaster Rovers on loan on 12 July 2019, joining the League One side for six months.[15][16] He made his debut and was named in the starting line-up in a 1–1 draw against Gillingham on 3 August.[17][18] His loan deal was extended until the end of the 2019–20 season on 7 January 2020.[19] On 15 February 2020, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat against Gillingham in the reverse fixture.[20] At the end, Sheaf played 38 games in all competitions for the side.[21]

Coventry City

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On 4 September 2020, Sheaf joined newly-promoted Championship side Coventry City on a season-long loan deal with the option to make the deal permanent after.[22] He made his first appearance for the club in a 2–1 defeat against Bristol City on 12 September.[23][24]

Sheaf signed for Coventry City on a three-year deal in July 2021.[25]

Wrexham

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On 1 September 2025, Sheaf joined Championship side Wrexham on a three-year deal.[26]

International career

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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 U18s 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[27] and drew the second game 0–0.

Personal life

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

Career statistics

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As of match played on 9 August 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Arsenal 2017–18[28] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 2 0
2018–19[29] 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 1 0
2019–20[30] 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2020–21[31] 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0
Stevenage (loan) 2017–18[28] League Two 10 0 0 0 0 0 — 10 0
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2019–20[30] League One 32 1 3 0 1 0 2[c] 0 38 1
Coventry City (loan) 2020–21[31] Championship 30 0 1 0 1 0 — 32 0
Coventry City 2021–22[32] Championship 35 2 2 0 0 0 — 37 2
2022–23[33] 35 2 1 1 0 0 2[d] 0 38 3
2023–24[34] 31 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 35 4
2024–25[35] 29 0 0 0 2 0 2[d] 0 33 0
2025–26 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 131 7 6 2 3 0 4 0 144 9
Career total 203 8 10 2 6 0 8 0 227 10
  1. ^ Appearance in Europa League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy for Arsenal U21 Squad
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  4. ^ a b Appearances in the EFL Championship play-offs


References

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  1. ^ "List of Temporary Transfers of Players under Written Contract Between 01/01/2018 and 31/01/2018". The Football Association. p. 27. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Ben Sheaf at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Ben Sheaf". Arsenal.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ "REPORT: Notts County 2-0 Stevenage". www.stevenagefc.com. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Rovers loan Arsenal youngster Sheaf". www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Ben Sheaf joins from Arsenal on loan". Arsenal F.C. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Doncaster Rovers: Arsenal youngster Ben Sheaf agrees six-month loan deal". BBC Sport. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  18. ^ Critchlow, Dan (21 August 2019). "Doncaster fansite give their thoughts on Arsenal loanee Ben Sheaf so far". Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Club News Sheaf extends loan until end of the season". Doncaster Rovers. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Gillingham 2 Rovers 1". www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  21. ^ Turner, Andy (4 September 2020). "Lowdown on Coventry City's loan man from Arsenal, Ben Sheaf". CoventryLive. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Coventry sign Arsenal midfielder Sheaf". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  23. ^ "REPORT: Bristol City 2-1 Sky Blues". www.ccfc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  24. ^ Turner, Andy (11 November 2020). "Chris Badlan on "unnoticed" quality of Sky Blues' Ben Sheaf". CoventryLive. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Coventry City re-sign Arsenal midfielder Ben Sheaf on Permanent Deal". Coventry Live.
  26. ^ "Signed | Ben Sheaf joins Wrexham AFC". wrexhamafc.co.uk. Wrexham AFC. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  27. ^ Association, The Football. "Ben Sheaf and Kazaiah Sterling help England see off Holland". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  28. ^ a b "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  30. ^ a b "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  31. ^ a b "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  32. ^ "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  35. ^ "Games played by Ben Sheaf in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
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