Saints supporters could be forgiven for saying "Who ?" when they read the name Tyreke Johnson on the subs bench for the visit of Arsenal, here we take a look at that mysterious number 51.

Ralph Hasenhuttl showed that he is not afraid to make bold changes when he brought on Tyreke Johnson in the dying minutes of injury time against Arsenal, most Saints fans in the stadium would never have heard of him before lunchtime a few hours earlier.

The shock was that Hasenhuttl used him, with a 3-2 lead to protect and only a couple of minutes left either Steven Davis or James Ward Prowse looked the obvious choices to replace Stuart Armstrong who appeared to have pulled up with cramp with the tank empty, but it was Johnson who came on.

His week started playing for the U23's against West Ham at Staplewood in front of 100 spectators including Ralph Hasenhuttl and ended with him being acclaimed on the St Mary's pitch by a euphoric Saints support.

His week and perhaps his life and career changed in the 27th minute of that game when he scored to give Saints a 2-0 lead against the Hammers, he was withdrawn at half time alongside the other scorer Marcus Barnes ostentatiously so that the team could change shape but perhaps Hasenhuttl had seen something and had a word.

So who is Tyreke Johnson, firstly he turned 20 in November and penned a new two year deal at the club in the summer and he plays usually as a winger or a wing back so presumably on Sunday Ralph brought him on for his pace to try and push Arsenal back.

He was born in Swindon but was originally on the books of Watford for a year aged 12 before joining hometown club Swindon.

But at 16 it wasn't the Robins he signed as an academy scholar for but Saints and he has been with the club since the summer of 2014.

But his name has been low key for most Saints supporters with his appearances limited to U23 games as well as the EFL Trophy where he played all three games this season.

But he has not been near the first team nor has his name been mentioned in dispatches so to speak but Ralph Hasenhuttl clearly saw something in him and had him on the bench for a reason rather than to just make up the numbers.

But Saints fans will not be able to sing There's Only One Tyreke Johnson ! surprisingly there are two, the other being a running back playing for Ohio Sate Buckeyes in the American College Football league.

He appears to almost share a birthday with our own Tyreke in that he was born on 4th November to our lad's 3rd November.

They could be described as being at a similar stage of their careers, in that the college league is where the NFL recruits from and games are often played in front of far bigger crowds than the NFL.

So perhaps there will be two star football players called Tyreke Johnson in a couple of years time but on different sides of the Atlantic and with a different shaped ball.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 12:29 - Dec 17 Decades ago I used to watch all Reserve / Youth games at The Dell, but fortunately I can also watch most U18/U23 games on line nowadays via the Club's site. Tyreke is just one of the up-and-coming lads who came to us after "not cutting it" with another League side when younger. Obviously our coaching is bringing the best out of him, and we've already seen Michael Obafemi and Yan Valery in action. Quite few of the Academy lads have "come through the ranks" ..starting at 8 y.o , and names like; Slattery, Vokins, Ramsey and Barnes may show up on the bench soon. There's a good mix of teenagers from other European countries, and we can keep an eye out for other English talents like U23's 10 goal Marcus Barnes, and an U18 French lad ..Enzo Robise who has terrifying pace and has got 4 goals and a few assists already this season. The U23's began the season in 5 different competitions and Rahdi has rung the changes and has already played a dozen U18 boys at the higher level so far. A speedy winger, Tyreke has featured in 20 games and bagged a hat-trick in the U23's 7-0 slaughter of Notts County's team last month. It maybe a year or two before they are vying for a first team place, but with the likes of Reed, Hesketh, Jones, Sims and Seager already getting League experience elsewhere , Tyreke can join the queue of promising youngsters who might swell the ranks of first teamers in the coming years.

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SaintNick added 13:10 - Dec 17 I think Reed, Hesketh, Jones and Seager along with Gallagher will all be moved on permanently either in January or the summer, they are all at an age where they should be challenging for a first team place and if they arent then at this level they probably never will. Despite the fact he isnt setting the world alight at Reading I still think Sims has what it takes..
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Toussaint added 19:26 - Dec 17 Johnson must be so happy right now the way he was added to the main squad and brought on instead of more experienced players was very nice but also because he has burning pace and Arsenals defence would of never caught him they were knackered Everything has changed now Reed and Gallagher will probably be in the 1st team ,this manager is my kind a guy .come on you Saintsssssssss

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KriSaint added 17:58 - Dec 18 Some of us knew who this young lad was, but probably not many.... I thought Will Smallbone would maybe get his chance, but it´s ok with me that T. Johnson was the one...
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