Arsenal’s u18s suffered a very disappointing defeat to Manchester United in the PL Trophy, throwing away a 3-0 lead to lose the match 4-3.

Arsenal went into their first group stage match on the back of a defeat to Chelsea, and at first they seemed to come out with a point to prove, scoring two goals in the first 12 minutes of the game. Bukayo Saka put the Gunners ahead, and Emile Smith Rowe scored his fourth of the season in all competitions.

Then, before the match had even reached half-time, Arsenal found themselves 3-0 up, as James Olayinka scored and left the young Gunners in a dominant position.

However, it all went wrong in the second half.

United made one change at the break, bringing on Dylan Levitt for injured Aidan Barlow, and Levitt quickly assisted Burkart to get one back for the Manchester side. Bughail-Mellor then scored a second to really get Arsenal worried.

Two penalties, both scored by Angel Gomes, meant the Red Devils ran out 4-3 winners. Whilst usually you could count yourself unlucky to lose a lead to two penalties, in this case the Gunners were the masters of their own downfall, with an awful defensive display on the day.

Arsenal’s next two games in the trophy are against Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and they’ll have to show a lot more resolve in those matches to progress to the next stage.

Line up:

Virginia; Daley Campbell-Olowu-Medley-Thompson; Benson-Ballard; Saka-Olayinka-Smith Rowe; Balogun

Subs: Clarke (for Thompson), John Jules (for Saka), Smith (for Ballard).

Not used: Okonkwo.