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'We're lucky we had football when we were younger'

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Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock are flying the flag for youngsters in England's capital.

Our Hale End graduates grew up in northeast London and have progressed through our youth ranks to represent our first team in the Premier League and Europe.

But, as both explain, their lives could have gone in a very different direction.

"Growing up in London, there's a lot of peer pressure out there and you can get swayed by the wrong people who may tell you that their way of life is the best," Maitland-Niles said.