Arsenal name interim u18 head coach

Arsenal have quietly made Josh Smith the interim head coach of their u18 team, with the coach stepping up from his previous role as an assistant.

Arsenal have appointed former u18 assistant head coach Josh Smith as the club’s interim head coach, confirming the change in a match report last week.

Arsenal haven’t published an official update on previous u18 head coach Adam Birchall, with Jeorge Bird reporting for Arsenal Youth that it’s unclear whether Birchall is still working for the club. Bird points out that Birchall missed much of last season due to illness.

Regardless of the reasoning, Smith is currently in charge, having worked his way up from the very youngest age groups in the Arsenal academy since his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.

Smith has so far overseen a 3-3 draw with Blackburn Rovers in the u18 Premier League Cup last Tuesday, followed by a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the u18 Premier League on Saturday.

In fairness, Smith’s team were significantly handicapped by two red cards against Brighton, and the final score was a lot closer than it probably should have been.

“The landscape of the game completely changes after 30 minutes after going down to ten,” Smith pointed out. “I thought the way that we started the game was very competitive for the first 30 [minutes].

“We all make mistakes. They’re young players. The biggest thing for [Emerson Nwaneri] and Jack [Talbot] is that they have to learn from it. The biggest consequence for them is that they end up missing games now.”

The interim Arsenal head coach will hope to add some new players to his squad in the coming days.

The Gunners have completed the signing of 16-year-old Axel Donczew from Cardiff City, and they’re also in the process of sorting compensation payments to add Liverpool striker Vincent Joseph and Crystal Palace striker Mylo Bernard to Smith’s options.

Assuming all three end up in u18 football at Arsenal, that could really help provide a boost to the team under their new interim boss.

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