The Arsenal u18s kept their recent strong form going with another win on Saturday, defeating Birmingham City in the u18 Premier League Cup.
The Arsenal u18s have been on a positive recent run of results, turning around a slow start to win three league games in a row before the international break.
Saturday’s return to club football saw the u18s back playing in the u18 Premier League Cup, looking for their first win in the competition after a 3-3 draw away to Blackburn Rovers back in August.
The young Gunners’ opponents were Birmingham City, who had lost their opening group game to Sunderland, so Arsenal knew that a win would leave their fate in their own hands ahead of the final match against the Black Cats in early November – regardless of the other result.
Summer signing Axel Donczew was among the starters for the game, with fellow new addition Vincent Joseph beginning the match on the bench.
Arsenal were dealt an early blow, going behind within nine minutes, but the team levelled midway through the half after Jaden Maghoma converted a penalty.
10 minutes later, the u18s had the lead, with Charlie Purdy setting up Abraham Owusu-Gyasi for 2-1, which is how it remained until half time.
Maghoma scored a second penalty to double Arsenal’s advantage in the second half, putting the team in the driving seat. The 15-year-old has been a big driver of the team’s recent form, notching six goal contributions across their four-game winning streak.
Though Birmingham did score a late consolation, they couldn’t avoid a 3-2 defeat.
The win guarantees Arsenal will finish the group stage ahead of Birmingham, as the young Gunners now sit four points ahead of Saturday’s opponents with one game remaining.
Whether the team can ultimately top the group and progress to the knockouts will depend on that final result against Sunderland. Sunderland won their game against Blackburn Rovers 2-1, so they’ll go into that last game two points clear of Arsenal.
An Arsenal win will see them top the group, but anything else will allow Sunderland to finish first.
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