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'My dad used to give me £5 a goal'
Brooke Norton-Cuffy of Hull City gestures during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Fulham and Hull City.
Image source, Getty Images

Hull City defender Brooke Norton-Cuffy is set to return to his former club Arsenal on Saturday, having come through the Gunners' academy as a schoolboy.

Norton-Cuffy previously played for Arsenal Under-21s but never made a senior appearance for the club.

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, the 22-year-old said: "It will be a proud moment for sure. I think my family and friends will take it in a bit more than I do because it's always just another game. They'll be like, 'This is the Emirates, this is where he started.'"

Asked how many tickets his family and friends had requested, he added: "Every single London game this season is probably going to be hell. I've asked for, I think it was 10 or 12. Not too bad, but I'm going to see if I can get more. Mum, my dad and my brothers will be there. And then a few close friends."

Before joining Arsenal, Norton-Cuffy spent time at Chelsea, having signed for the club as a child. He remained there for around three or four years before being released and subsequently joining the Gunners.

Reflecting on his early days in football, he said: "I just wanted to play football. I was a striker back then, I used to score goals. My dad used to give me £5 a goal. It was great pocket money, he went broke really quick.

"Halfway through the season my dad stopped it because in my first game I scored seven, in my second game I scored like 15, so my dad was like, 'We're not doing this anymore.' If you have a good game we'll get a McDonald's."

However, it was an Arsenal coach who would eventually help transform Norton-Cuffy from a goalscoring striker into a right-back.

He credited Greg Lincoln, who coached him for several years at the academy, with playing a major role in his development and suggesting the positional switch during his under-14 season.

He said: "It was my coach at Arsenal, Greg Lincoln. I had him for quite a few years while I was at Arsenal. He's been one of the biggest helps for my career.

"I was playing striker and then in the under-13/14 season is when I started to go on the wing. And then in under-14s we just didn't have a great season, and Greg said to me, 'I think you'll be a decent right-back, you know. You can get forward and press really well. You're physically good, try it.'

"At first I was like, 'no'. Then I played it one game and I got an assist and I was like, this isn't too bad. I did a few more games and I started to enjoy the one-v-one side of it and getting forward."

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