The Arsenal youth teams have had a mixed weekend, with the u21s earning a narrow 1-0 win over Burnley but the u18s losing by the same scoreline to Southampton.
The Arsenal academy kicked off the weekend with a good win over Burnley on Friday night, bouncing back from an embarrassing 7-0 defeat to Liverpool the previous weekend.
Though the 1-0 victory didn’t exactly fix the team’s new goal difference deficit, it was a convincing performance to get the side back on track.
Andre Harriman-Annous had three good chances before Brando Bailey-Joseph’s opener, hitting the post and forcing a couple of saves from the Burnley goalkeeper.
Premier League 2 debutant Bailey-Joseph then got the goal Arsenal deserved, making a strong run down the right before firing across the keeper. It was an excellent solo effort and a great way to mark his first appearance in the competition.
Archie Stevens was denied a goal by an excellent Burnley block not long afterwards, and a flowing Arsenal move ended in another last-ditch tackle on Josh Ogunnaike. And those were just the best chances of the match, with the hosts racking up six shots on target to Burnley’s zero.
“I’m happy with the result,” Max Porter said afterwards. “We had a very young side out there. I think we had eight scholars playing, so that was a big positive for us.
“Last week we were very poor and didn’t show our best selves. The whole week was about responding. Not necessarily the result, but putting in a much better performance across the whole game.
“We did that this week, and when you perform better, you give yourself a better chance of winning, which we did tonight.”
With Arsenal naming such a young u21 side, there was inevitably going to be an impact on the u18s the following day.
Ethan Nwaneri’s 15-year-old brother Emerson made his first u18 Premier League start in Saturday’s match away to Southampton, as did Elyon Mbala and Mishel Nduka. Jack Talbot had been on the bench for the u21s the previous evening, and he then raced to Southampton to start for the u18s.
All the same, the young Gunners had chances, with Kyran Thompson hitting the post and Nwaneri having a couple of opportunities. The team also thought they should have had a penalty for handball in the second half.
But luck was with the hosts on the day, and Thierry Rohart-Brown converted a rebound off the crossbar to give Southampton a 1-0 win.
Arsenal u21 lineup vs Burnley
Porter, Nichols, Kacurri, Salmon, Ogunnaike, Ibrahim, Julienne, Harriman-Annous, Zecevic John, Bailey-Joseph, Sagoe Jr.
Substitutes
Agustien (for Harriman-Annous, 61), Clarke (for Salmon, 67), Stevens (for Julienne, 67, Washington (for Bailey-Joseph, 84), Talbot
Arsenal u18 lineup vs Southampton
Talbot, Hamill, Pedro, Onyekachukwu, Mbala, Murisa, Nduka, Hashi, Thompson, Nwaneri, Marciniak
Substitutes
Stachow (for Mbala, 60), Sesay (for Hashi, 66), Frohock (for Thompson, 84), Owusu-Gyasi, Lupinski