Arsenal u23s will hope for a winning finish to an eventful season when they face United on Monday night.

Inconsistent form early on diminished chances of a firm title challenge but to their credit, Steve Gatting’s side have clearly improved against the league’s high-quality sides as the season has progressed.

Victories against Chelsea and Tottenham, as well as a thrilling home draw against Manchester City in March highlight this.

On this occasion though, they face a United side eager to win consecutive meetings between the two teams. RoShaun Williams’ early strike in October was enough to give the hosts one of only three league victories before Christmas.

Arsenal team news and possible line-up

Gatting will be expected to make a few changes to the side that were defeated 2-1 by Sunderland a fortnight ago.

The team on the whole was more inexperienced than has been the case in recent months. Joe Willock for instance, made his u23 debut featuring alongside older brother Chris, whilst Joseph Olowu and Marcus McGuane were given rare starts.

It’s possible that a few senior players could be involved but Gatting would maintain a mix between youth and experience here. The fixture itself is at the Emirates with supporters eager to watch the club’s highly-rated youngsters in action.

Reiss Nelson recovered from a minor injury to return with aplomb for the u18s whilst there is likely to be some first-team players featuring here. Carl Jenkinson, Alex Iwobi and Yaya Sanogo are just three of the possibilities.

Possible XI (4-2-3-1): Huddart; Jenkinson, Sheaf, Olowu, Bramall; Maitland-Niles, McGuane; Nelson, Willock, Iwobi; Malen.

The opposition

United themselves are likely to have some interesting selection dilemmas, following Sunday’s first-team fixture. Senior call-ups for Matt Olosunde and Demetri Mitchell mean were in contention to feature for the first-team on Sunday, whilst Axel Tuanzebe started.

It’s unlikely that Nicky Butt will make drastic alterations to his side but could switch up formations, aiming to frustrate the hosts.

One key man to watch out for is Josh Harrop. The 21-year-old midfielder has scored six goals and created four more in all competitions for the Reds this term, so will be hoping to increase his tally before the season is completed next week.

Possible XI (4-4-2): Henderson; Spratt, Borthwick-Jackson, Poole, Scott; M. Willock, Harrop, Gribbin, Boonen; McTominay, Redmond.