The Arsenal u18s put an end to a poor recent run with a comeback win over Birmingham City on Saturday, with goalscorer Ceadach O’Neill set for a first-team call-up.
The Arsenal u18s had been on a poor run of form before this weekend, winless in eight games in all competitions including six defeats.
Among the list of results were a 5-2 FA Youth Cup thrashing by Manchester City and a 6-2 u18 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa, though those were the only two defeats by more than one goal.
Even so, it was well past time for the team to get back to winning ways, and that’s just what they did at home to Birmingham City on Saturday.
Arsenal played the first 10 minutes like a team desperate to get that win, with Ceadach O’Neill and Kyran Thompson missing early chances to take the lead. But it looked like a day for more doom and gloom after Fynn Hawkeswood scored from close range to put Birmingham 1-0 up.
Thankfully, Arsenal rallied, with O’Neill scoring a header in the 21st minute and Maalik Hashi turning home a rebound from an Emerson Nwaneri shot in the 34th minute.
O’Neill was withdrawn at half-time, and has since been spotted with the first-team squad for their FA Cup match against Wigan Athletic. The young forward is having an excellent season so far, not far off a record of one goal or assist per game.
Arsenal made sure of the win early in the second half, with Alex Marciniak scoring in the 50th minute for 3-1. That turned out to be the final goal of the match, as the Gunners lifted themselves to 10th in the u18 Premier League South table.
Arsenal u18 lineup vs Birmingham City
Porter, Owusu-Gyasi, Stachow, Pedro, Ogunnaike, Murisa, Hashi, Nwaneri, Marciniak, Thompson, O’Neill
Substitutes
Nduka (for O’Neill, 46), Abubakar (for Ogunnaike, 63), Frohock (for Hashi, 71), Onyekachukwu (for Murisa, 81)
What’s next?
It was certainly a good time for the Arsenal u18s to get back to winning ways, as their next match is the u18 north London derby at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, February 17th at 11:00 GMT.