TEENAGER Andrew Taylor should become the latest in a long line of academy products to make the grade at Middlesbrough this afternoon, when he makes his Premiership debut at Arsenal.

Alongside Stuart Parnaby (23), Matthew Bates (18) and Chris Riggott (25), the 18-year-old could form part of a back four that has a combined age of 84 and will come face to face with one of the world's top strikers in Therry Henry.

An appearance at Highbury represents a massive turnaround for Taylor, who started 2006 playing for Bradford against Brentford in League One.

An injury to Franck Queudrue and the suspension of Emanuel Pogatetz today means Taylor is likely to be handed the chance he has dreamed of on the Premiership stage.

And the man who took him on loan to Bradford at the start of the season, Colin Todd, believes a first-team appearance is exactly what the Hartlepool-born defender deserves for months of impressive displays at Valley Parade.

"I half expected this would happen and when I saw the news about Queudrue I knew Steve would have to make the decision. That's the problem with loan deals and there's nothing we could do," said Todd, a Boro boss between 1990-91.

"But I think Andrew would be disappointed if he went back to Middlesbrough and isn't involved after the transfer window closes. It looks like he will get his wish on Saturday and hopefully it will remain that way.

"He's been a tremendous asset to our club and we wanted to keep him. I hope he gets a fair crack of the whip up there because he deserves one.

"What we've done is provide Steve with a player who's proven at first team level. That will put him ahead of a lot of the younger lads up there."

Taylor was part of Boro's FA Youth Cup winning team in 2004 and has always been held in high regard at the Riverside Stadium.

He had looked like he might have suffered an injury in Tuesday night's reserves win over Sunderland but has shrugged off the knock to take his place on the train journey to North London yesterday.

And Todd believes Taylor's good work is about to receive its just rewards. "He came to us intending to make the most of the opportunity and it has paid off," said Todd.

"His aim was to break into Middlesbrough's first team and it looks like he is going to do that.

"It's a big blow to lose someone of his quality but I'm sure he'd agree that this has been a good experience for him."

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