The Arsenal academy will travel to the USA for the 2019 Dallas Cup in April, after finishing as runners-up in the youth competition last season.

Folarin Balogun playing for Arsenal in the 2018 Dallas Cup (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Folarin Balogun playing for Arsenal in the 2018 Dallas Cup (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Arsenal have been announced as one of 11 confirmed teams taking part in the competition between the 14th and 21st April 2019. Here is the full list of participants:

  • Querétaro FC
  • Ikapa Sporting FC
  • Cruzeiro EC
  • CF Monterrey
  • Red Bull Brasil
  • Arsenal FC
  • Liverpool FC
  • Tigres
  • New York City FC
  • FC Dallas
  • Toronto FC

The Gunners will be taking part in the u19 category, specifically for players born on January 1st, 2000 and later. They did the same last year, and made it all the way to the final before eventually losing to Mexican side Tigres, who are also returning this time around.

The highlight of the tournament was certainly the semi-final, where Arsenal came back from 2-0 down against Manchester United to level it as 2-2, before winning the resulting penalty shootout.

It was the day Bukayo Saka really announced himself to the watching fans, scoring both goals and a penalty. You can watch his goals in exclusively-obtained footage from the match below:

Since then, the 17-year-old has gone on to make his u23 debut, followed by his first-team debut in November. Perhaps we’ll see the next breakthrough star in this year’s event.

Saka wasn’t the only one to impress, with Arthur Okonkwo saving three penalties before signing a professional contract recently, and Folarin Balogun scoring a couple of goals and earning a professional deal of his own.

Let’s hope this year’s tournament is just as much fun for the players and the fans in attendance. Maybe this time the young gunners can go on to win it!