The Arsenal u18s have drawn a difficult route to the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup, with two games against Premier League academies.

After defeating Blackburn Rovers in the FA Youth Cup fourth round, Arsenal put themselves into the hat for the fifth-round and quarter-final draws conducted this week.

First up, Arsenal will face West Ham United away from home, with the tie to be played before April 17th. If they make it through that, they’ll either play Leicester City, Manchester United, or Liverpool, away from home once again.

Manchester United still haven’t played their fourth-round tie against Liverpool, which is why there are still three potential opponents for the quarter-final. Either United or Liverpool will travel away to Leicester in the fifth round.

By all accounts, this is a pretty unfortunate draw for Arsenal. Firstly, playing away from home in every single tie in the competition so far is a bit unlucky.

But also, there are still 11 teams from non-Premier League academies left in the competition, and Arsenal have managed to draw two that are attached to top-flight sides.

All the same, after a 4-1 win with some fantastic goals in the last round, the u18s should be feeling confident heading into the West Ham clash. They also won their last u18 encounter with the Hammers 1-0 in February.