The young Gunners completed a memorable tournament in China, adding another trophy to Arsenal’s growing collection at academy level.
Arsenal Women’s Under-17s have been crowned the inaugural Shanghai Future Star Cup champions after beating Shanghai U17 in the final, capping an impressive week for the club’s academy.
The victory means Arsenal return from Shanghai with silverware in both the boys‘ and girls’ competitions.
Arsenal secured a 2-1 victory over Shanghai U17 in Friday’s final to lift the first women’s Shanghai Future Star Cup, the tournament’s inaugural edition for girls’ teams.
Held between 16 and 22 August at the Yuanshen Sports Center and Jiushi Kangqiao Sports Base, the competition brought together eight Under-17 sides, including Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Real Sociedad, Paris FC, Shanghai U17 and China U17.
Arsenal’s route to the trophy was far from straightforward. Drawn alongside Real Sociedad, Paris FC and Shanghai in the group stage, the Gunners had to recover from 2-0 down at half-time to draw 2-2 with Shanghai. They also beat Real Sociedad 2-1 but lost 1-0 against Paris FC:
Their semi-final against China U17 also took an unusual turn. With the score 2-2 after 50 minutes, the match was abandoned because of adverse weather. Tournament organisers, together with both teams, agreed to decide the outcome by drawing lots, sending Arsenal through to the final.
There, Arsenal made the most of their opportunity, beating Shanghai U17 2-1, with goals from Millie Marriott and Bryony Brodie.
Earlier this month, the club’s boys’ Under-17 side were named joint winners of the men’s Shanghai Future Star Cup alongside China U17 after their final was affected by typhoon conditions and concluded without a standalone winner.
The girls have now gone one step further, becoming the first outright champions of the women’s competition.
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