The Arsenal u21s ended their 100% record with a draw on Friday, but Mehmet Ali’s side remain top of the league.

Mehmet Ali with the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Mehmet Ali with the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Arsenal made a few changes for their trip to Brighton on Friday, for various reasons.

Karl Hein finally made his return to the squad after his recent absence, which was a boost for the Gunners in goal. The Estonian international started in goal on the night.

Marquinhos was called up to the first team for training, which meant Amario Cozier-Duberry got a chance to start, and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji replaced Khayon Edwards up front.

Given Marquinhos and Edwards were two of Arsenal’s biggest attacking threats in the opening games, that was obviously less of a boost than Hein’s inclusion.

But Cozier-Duberry and Butler-Oyedeji have had some good recent cameos, linking up for Arsenal’s fourth goal against Chelsea in the previous match. So it was good for the two of them to get their first Premier League 2 starts of the season.

First half

Miguel Azeez (L) chases Brighton's Andrew Moran (Photo by Paul Hazlewood via Brighton and Hove Albion)
Miguel Azeez (L) chases Brighton’s Andrew Moran (Photo by Paul Hazlewood via Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton came out faster than Arsenal, and after the Gunners failed to deal with a set piece, Jack Hinshelwood converted Antef Tsoungui’s cross with a hint of offside for 1-0 in the third minute.

But Arsenal’s recent form has given them the confidence to deal with setbacks, and within five minutes they were level.

It was Cozier-Duberry with the goal, firing home from a James Olayinka assist for 1-1.

Arsenal found a little momentum, and Olayinka created another chance for Butler-Oyedeji, who put it wide. But after that, Brighton started to heavily disrupt Arsenal’s play.

The hosts committed a number of fouls, picking up a couple of yellow cards, and they put Arsenal under a lot of pressure in possession.

Brighton started to take the upper hand in the match, and they had a fantastic chance to make it 2-1, with goalscorer Hinshelwood missing a sitter. Hein had to make a big save a few minutes later to keep it level.

After a first half that Brighton had mostly dominated, Arsenal almost scored against the run of play in the final minute, with Lino Sousa hitting the bar. But the two teams went in level at the break.

Second half

Lino Sousa playing for the Arsenal u21s vs Brighton (Photo by Paul Hazlewood via Brighton and Hove Albion)
Lino Sousa playing for the Arsenal u21s vs Brighton (Photo by Paul Hazlewood via Brighton and Hove Albion)

Arsenal needed to start the second half with more readiness to compete, and they did just that. Within two minutes, Charles Sagoe Jr had scored with a powerful finish from a tight angle, again assisted by Olayinka.

Matt Smith put a reverse shot just wide, and Sousa had a shot blocked, before Cozier-Duberry had a goal ruled out for an offside earlier in the play.

But after Arsenal had dominated the chances for 20 minutes or so, they gifted Brighton an opening out of nothing, with Zach Awe slipping over and the ball falling to the striker. Fortunately, Hein made another huge save to spare his centre-back’s blushes.

Arsenal weren’t so lucky a few minutes later, as a strong Todd Miller run ended up with a very fortunate deflected shot that landed at the feet of Casper Nilsson to equalise for Brighton.

The chances started to dry up after that, with injuries and fouls leading to frustrations on both touchlines spilling over into a few arguments.

But after the final whistle blew, the two managers shook hands politely and both settled for their point.

Final thoughts

Arsenal remain top of the Premier League 2, though just barely.

The Gunners have won three games and drawn one, scoring 12 goals and conceding six, which is exactly the same record as second-place Crystal Palace. It’s only alphabetical order keeping the Gunners ahead.

James Olayinka has been fantastic for the u21s this season, and he really deserves a senior move before the window closes. It looked like Arsenal might have been protecting him for a transfer, as they substituted him early on Friday night.

The midfielder had already racked up two assists in the match, which puts him top of the Premier League 2 assists charts with five. He also has two goals, putting him on seven goal contributions from four games.

Another takeaway from the game was the way James Sweet and Lino Sousa tucked into midfield when Arsenal were in possession.

The two full-backs are both very technically capable, so they have no trouble playing that role, and it will certainly help to prepare them for first-team football in the future.

Finally, Amario Cozier-Duberry had no trouble putting in a strong performance throughout the 90 minutes on his first PL2 start of the campaign, capping it with a goal. He’s more than capable of filling in on the wings if Marquinhos remains unavailable.

Arsenal u21 lineup vs Brighton

Hein, Sweet, Sousa, Awe, Monlouis, Azeez, M. Smith, Olayinka, Cozier-Duberry, Butler-Oyedeji, Sagoe Jr

Substitutes

Henry-Francis (for Olayinka, 63), Ideho (for Butler-Oyedeji, 83), Bandeira (for Azeez, 90), Hillson, Foran

What’s next?

The Arsenal u21s kick off their EFL Trophy campaign with a trip to Cambridge United on Tuesday, August 30th, at 19:00 BST.