West Ham United were crowned u18 PL South champions with a win over Arsenal on Saturday, but there were encouraging signs for the FA Youth Cup final.

Omari Benjamin 3
Omari Benjamin with the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Instagram)

Jack Wilshere’s Arsenal u18s are set to face West Ham United in the FA Youth Cup final later this month, and the two sides had a bit of a dress rehearsal for that contest on Saturday.

West Ham hosted the Gunners as they pushed to secure the crown as u18 Premier League South champions, and they ended up with the 2-0 victory they needed to achieve that goal.

Yet there was still some cause for encouragement ahead of the cup final.

For a start, Arsenal weren’t playing their strongest side on Saturday.

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The likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Bradley Ibrahim, and Amario Cozier-Duberry featured for the u21s on Friday, so they were absent for the u18s along with Reuell Walters, Lino Sousa, and Michal Rosiak.

Only four cup starters kept their places for the league clash, but the other seven should come back in for the cup game.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 23: Amario Cozier-Duberry of Arsenal celebrates scoring a penalty past Tom Finch of Camb Utd to make it 2-2 during the FA Youth Cup Fifth round match between Arsenal and Cambridge United at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Amario Cozier-Duberry of Arsenal celebrates scoring a penalty past Tom Finch of Cambridge Utd to make it 2-2 on February 23, 2023. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

By comparison, 10 of the players who started for West Ham on Saturday had also featured at some stage in their FA Youth Cup semi-final against Southampton, with eight players starting both matches.

Even so, playing away from home, the Gunners managed to hold out until the final quarter of the match, conceding in the 68th and 80th minutes. Divine Mukasa and Gideon Kodua netted the goals for the hosts.

Arsenal fans will hope that with a full-strength team at the Emirates Stadium on April 25th, the u18s will stand a good chance at upsetting the odds and preventing West Ham from achieving a domestic double.

Arsenal u18 lineup vs West Ham

Cooper, Robinson, Kacurri, Brown, Nichols, Gower, I. Oulad M’hand, Roberts, Ferdinand, Kamara, Benjamin

Substitutes

Kabia (for Ferdinand, 71), Small (for Nichols, 74), Green (for Gower, 83), Rojas

What’s next?

The Arsenal u18s face Leicester City on Tuesday, April 18th at 15:30 BST.

They’ve then had their weekend match against Southampton rescheduled, so they’ll be ready for the Youth Cup final on Tuesday, April 25th at 19:00. Ticket information is available here.

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