Arsenal came from two goals down to draw against Leicester City on Tuesday, in their last match before the FA Youth Cup final next week.
Arsenal are set to take on West Ham United in the FA Youth Cup final next Tuesday, April 25th, and they had one final warm-up game in the league this Tuesday against Leicester City.
The team was still missing a lot of key components from the cup side, with many of the u18s likely to join first-team training or to play for the u21s on Friday.
But for the likes of Omari Benjamin, Michal Rosiak, and Josh Robinson, this was a final chance to impress ahead of the final.
Unfortunately, the game didn’t start well, with Logan Briggs and former Gunner Amani Richards helping Leicester race into a 2-0 lead in the first half.
But Jack Wilshere’s u18 side rallied after the break, with cup hero Rosiak heavily involved in the comeback.
Wilshere made a couple of changes at half-time, bringing on Jimi Gower and Luis Brown for Harrison Dudziak and Henry Davies. The team alterations quickly paid dividends.
In the 50th minute, Rosiak set up Seb Ferdinand to peg Leicester back, and just four minutes later, Rosiak had a goal of his own for 2-2.
Arsenal didn’t manage to find a winner, but to pull off a draw from 2-0 down away from home is no mean feat.
Full focus now turns to next Tuesday’s match at the Emirates Stadium, with ticket info available here.
Arsenal u18 lineup vs Leicester City
Rojas, Robinson, Davies, Kacurri, Nichols, Rosiak, Ferdinand, Dudziak, Kabia, Kamara, Benjamin
Substitutes
Gower (for Dudziak, 46), Brown (for Davies, 46), Oyetunde (for Kabia, 85), I. Oulad M’hand
What’s next?
The u21s play at Meadow Park against Fulham on Friday night, the same night the first team are taking on Southampton.
Though the clash is frustrating for supporters, it will allow any youth players involved in first-team training to play in the u21 match if they aren’t called up to the senior squad.
Then it’s the FA Youth Cup final on Tuesday, April 25th at 19:00 BST, at the Emirates Stadium.