Arsenal will kick off their FA Youth Cup campaign against Cheltenham Town on Wednesday, December 18th, with the details of the fixture now confirmed.

Arsenal drew Cheltenham Town or Portsmouth earlier in the month, but they had to wait for the results of the fixture between the two to know the full details.

Cheltenham Town ended up winning 8-4(!), following a 3-2 victory over Eastleigh in the first round of the tournament. As Premier League sides only enter the competition in the third round, this will be Arsenal’s first game.

The fixture will be played at Cheltenham’s Jonny-Rocks Stadium on Wednesday, December 18th, with kick-off scheduled for 7pm. Tickets will be available on the door, and cost £5 for adults and £2 for concessions.

Last year, Arsenal defeated Northampton Town at this stage of the tournament, before a memorable 5-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Bukayo Saka, Xavier Amaechi and Folarin Balogun all starred that day, but only Saka is still with Arsenal and eligible for u18 football, and there’s next to no chance he’ll feature given his senior participation this season.

Arsenal then suffered a disappointing exit to West Brom, with many players admitting afterwards that they’d been a bit complacent given their fantastic form in the u18 PL Southern Division (which they won) and the cup up to that point.

It’s up to Miguel Azeez, Ben Cottrell, Sam Greenwood and the rest to put things right this year.