Arsenal’s u18 and u23 matches will continue to go ahead despite the current nationwide lockdown in England, according to the FA.

After the UK Government’s latest lockdown announcement, the FA released a statement confirming which levels of the football pyramid would be shut down as a result. Notably for Arsenal’s youngsters, elite u18/u23 football wasn’t listed.

It seems the games will go ahead as normal, just as with the senior side. We may still see some postponements, with Arsenal already having two u18 games called off at the last minute this campaign.

The Arsenal academy teams are currently preparing to return to the pitches after their winter break. The u23s signed off in December with a 2-1 win over Leicester City, whilst the u18s ended 2020 with a 2-1 FA Youth Cup win over Rotherham United.

The u18s will be the first back, travelling to Aston Villa this weekend. Their match is scheduled for Saturday, January 9th at 11:00, though there’s unlikely to be any way to watch the action.

As for the u23s, they next play on Sunday, January 17th at 14:30. It’s up to hosts Southampton as to whether that match is streamed. We wish good luck to both teams in the new year and hope they’re all able to stay safe.