Jack Wilshere’s u18 side faced a bitter double blow in the cups over the last fortnight, exiting both competitions to Arsenal’s big-six rivals.
Just over two weeks ago, Arsenal’s u18 side were looking forward to a few key fixtures across multiple competitions.
First, the young Gunners would take on Liverpool in the FA Youth Cup. Then, they’d face Leicester City to keep the pressure on at the top of the u18 Premier League, before playing Manchester United in the u18 Premier League Cup quarter-finals.
But a key fortnight for the side got off to the worst possible start, as Jack Wilshere’s 2022/23 Youth Cup finalists were thrashed by Liverpool to be eliminated in the fourth round, despite a goal from Ethan Nwaneri.
The youngsters had to bounce back quickly, and to their credit, they did.
Michal Rosiak, Osman Kamara, and Chido Obi-Martin were all on the scoresheet as Arsenal won 4-0 in their league game against Leicester City, building up some confidence ahead of their PL Cup quarter-final.
That game took place at Manchester United’s training ground on Saturday, and it was an entertaining back-and-forth encounter.
United took the lead with a set-piece tap-in 42 minutes in, before Kamara scored his third goal in two games to cap off an excellent run in the 59th minute.
Arsenal weren’t level for long, with Ethan Williams quickly restoring United’s lead. But the Gunners battled back again, with Josh Nichols receiving a long pass before scoring for 2-2.
The Gunners held on until full time, despite a few late United chances, but their resolve was broken in the first half of extra time, as United scored twice to take a commanding 4-2 lead with 15 minutes left.
Arsenal couldn’t turn things around in the final period, and Luis Brown was sent off with a couple of minutes to go to compound the team’s misery.
In all, Arsenal certainly showed a lot of character to bounce back from their defeat to Liverpool and their various setbacks against Manchester United. But that doesn’t change the fact they’re now out of both competitions, and forced to focus fully on the league.
Perhaps things could have been different had Ethan Nwaneri and Chido Obi-Martin been in the team against Manchester United, among others. That lineup uncertainty is just the nature of youth football sometimes.
Arsenal u18 lineup vs Manchester United
Rojas, Nichols, Kacurri, W. Sweet, Brown, Rosiak, Casey, Dudziak, Kabia, Kamara, Oyetunde
Substitutes
Ryan (for Casey, 68), Heaven (for W. Sweet, 73) Akolbire (for Oyetunde, 90), Ismail (for Kabia, 105), B. Okonkwo
What’s next?
The Arsenal u18s now have a bit of a break, playing their next game against Southampton in the u18 Premier League on Saturday, February 17th at 12:00 GMT.
The young Gunners are seven points off the top of the South division with two games in hand, though Chelsea are just two points behind with two more games in hand on Wilshere’s side. It’s certainly tight at the at the top.