The Premier League 2 fixtures have officially been confirmed.

Arsenal’s u23s’ Premier League 2 season kicks off with a trip to Derby County on 14 August. They beat Derby twice last season (3-1 and 2-1), so should be feeling confident ahead of the game.

The Young Guns will then face Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on 21 August.

Arsenal drew against them at home last season and lost to them 1-0 away.

The City clash is one of a few Premier League 2 matches that will take place at the Emirates next season, according to Arsenal.com, with the others coming against Sunderland and Spurs. However, more could be announced.

With the exception of November and December, August to January sees the Gunners play three league fixtures a month. However, these will be interspersed with other competitions, such as the UEFA Youth League.

Arsenal’s u23s finished fourth in Premier League 2 last season behind Liverpool (3rd), City (2nd) and title-winners, Everton.

Manchester United have won the Division One title three times, and Chelsea have also won it once.

There’s only 12 teams involved and therefore 22 matches overall, so there’s less room for error and less time to recover from mistakes. Saying that, there’s also less time to make them in the first place.

Hopefully, the u23s have a successful season. After all, they’re the future of the senior team.

First team players like Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin came through the Arsenal ranks and therefore, it’s always worth catching a youth game or two.

Here are 10 youth players to keep an eye on next season.