When Archie Gray and his younger brother Harry used to “kick lumps out of each other in the garden” as kids, they both naturally had aspirations of playing at the top level.
As the latest members of the iconic Gray footballing dynasty that’s synonymous with Leeds United, why wouldn’t they?
But what they perhaps didn’t envision was that one day they might be on opposite sides of a Premier League game!
That could happen on Saturday when Archie makes his first return to his boyhood club as a Spurs player – something he says “already feels a little bit weird”.
But when you add in the fact that his 16-year-old sibling is on the verge of breaking through into the senior set-up at Leeds and could be involved in their matchday squad opposite him – a star player for their Under-21s, striker Harry was named on Leeds’ bench in a Premier League game for the first time against Wolves a fortnight ago – it adds an extra layer to what already promises to be an emotional day for the whole family.
“I think half of the family will be in the Spurs end and half of them in the Leeds end!” laughed Archie at Hotspur Way in the build-up to Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off. “I’m joking of course, but hopefully he’s in the squad. Obviously he can’t control that but, you know, he’s just got to keep his head down and work hard in training because he’s got all the talent in the world.
“He's always been a striker, always been scoring goals, so hopefully he can keep doing that – just not against us! We always used to just kick lumps out of each other when we were in the garden. It would always end in tears but we loved every minute of it and it’s going to be weird, especially if he’s on the bench.
“He’s always been a little bit too young to play against me before but we’ve both always been at Leeds and both had the same journey growing up. Seeing my younger brother with them, both of us playing for different teams, it’s going to be a little bit strange, but I’m just going to be fully focused on the game and nothing else when it comes.”
What will be the last thing Archie says to his brother on Saturday morning if they’re both named in their respective squads?
“I don’t know what I’d say... I’ve never really thought about that. I guess it would be ‘just don’t score against us!’”
Even without his brother’s current allegiances to our opponents, Saturday is bound to stir a range of emotions in Archie. His father Andy, grandfather Frank and great uncle Eddie all notably played for Leeds during their careers, while the midfielder himself joined them in the Under-9s and came all the way through to star for their first team before joining us in July, 2024.
“I can’t wait,” he said, looking ahead to the match. “That’s my home, that’s where I’ve been raised and I’ve got so much love for Leeds but I’m playing for Tottenham now, we’ve obviously got a job to do at the weekend and we’re looking forward to that.
“Already it feels a little bit weird that we’re going to be playing against a team where I’ve spent virtually my whole life. I’m so grateful for everything that they’ve done for me and I’m so proud to be from Leeds and be one of their own. Of course, it’s going to be unusual going back there this weekend, but we’ve got a job to do.”
Archie heads into the game off the back of a good week on a personal level – having stepped off the bench, it was his low delivery that led to our late equaliser against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
“Coming on, I just want to make the biggest impact that I can,” he explained. “I think that’s the main thing for a sub coming on. In my head I’m just thinking ‘how can I affect the game?’ and just giving it my all, trying to make those tackles, getting myself forward in the box and just trying to make a difference – that’s the thing that I do every time I come on.
“As a team we’ve definitely started the season strongly. The last two results (draws with Wolves and Bodo/Glimt) were not what we would have hoped for but they were difficult games, especially the game against Bodo. They’re a difficult team to beat, they played really good football and they’re a lot better than people on the outside expect them to be. We knew that they’re a really good team, we respected that, of course they’re two results that we weren’t hoping to get but it’s good to come away with a draw after coming from 2-0 down in the game on Tuesday, so yes, it’s been a good start to the season and hopefully we can carry that on.”
Archie was speaking at an event run through the Spurs Football Development programme, during which he met a group of aspiring young footballers from one of the Club’s partners, Culford School.
Watch | Archie Gray's best moments in the Premier League
