“We’ll keep pushing ourselves, and hopefully, there’ll be even better performances in the weeks to come.”
The Arsenal u18s picked up their first point since Jack Wilshere’s departure this weekend, coming from behind to draw with Crystal Palace.
The story of the Arsenal u18 season so far has been about comebacks, both before and after Jack Wilshere’s departure for a first-team coaching job at Norwich City.
It began in late August, as Arsenal came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with West Bromwich Albion. The team then repeated that exact result against Southampton, coming from 3-0 down once again.
In their next game, Arsenal came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 against Brighton, only to find themselves on the receiving end of a late equaliser for a third consecutive 3-3 draw.
Things went from bad to worse in Wilshere’s final game, with the Gunners giving up a 2-1 lead to lose 4-2.
Not much has changed on that front since Wilshere’s departure and Adam Birchall’s appointment as the u18s’ head coach.
Arsenal went 2-0 up in Birchall’s first game in charge against Norwich City, but Norwich rallied late to win 3-2 and deny him a first victory.
Birchall took charge of his second game on Saturday, and Sebastian Williams gave Crystal Palace a first-half lead to put Arsenal in trouble again.
Fortunately, 16-year-old Brando Bailey-Joseph found an equaliser with a near-post finish, set up by in-form midfielder Dan Casey.
Arsenal had a late chance to win it through Daniel Oyetunde, but he hit the side netting. Birchall ultimately had to settle for his first point rather than his first three.
“The lads showed a lot of heart to come back and get a point,” Birchall said afterwards.
“Jack Porter made a couple of fantastic saves as well. I was really pleased with his performance. He’s used his experience with the first team to drive himself further in training. He’s shown great leadership skills.
“Like with any change, it takes time to embed new ideas. But the players have been outstanding in training, and we’ve been very clear that training sets us up for the games.
Arsenal u18 lineup vs Crystal Palace
Porter, Salmon, Clarke, Sweet, Ismail, Ibrahim, Julienne, Copley, Zecevic John, Bailey-Joseph, Casey
Substitutes
Onyekachukwu (for Salmon, 74), Oyetunde (for Zecevic John, 60), Ranson, Hashi, Akolbire
What’s next?
The Arsenal u18s will be in action next weekend away to Reading, but many of the same players will also be involved in midweek as the u19s take on Inter Milan in the UEFA Youth League.
The Youth League games take place on the same day as the first-team Champions League matches, in the early afternoons. In this case, that means a game on Wednesday, November 6th at 13:30 GMT.