Arsenal exit NextGen and lose ground in U21 League in eventful week

A whirlwind week for Arsenal’s youngsters came to a disappointing conclusion last night as the U21s suffered a 2-1 defeat to Southampton at the Silverlake Stadium, with the defeat to the Saints coming off the back of two losses in the NextGen Series, as the young Gunners eventually finished fourth in that competition.

The enthralling semi-final with London rivals Chelsea, which saw the Blues prevail 4-3 after extra-time, provided many talking points, with Arsenal displaying terrific resilience to draw level at 3-3 having been 3-1 down, but poor defending throughout rendered Terry Burton’s side’s task of reaching the Final an incredibly difficult one. Despite that, Serge Gnabry’s stunning strike to force extra-time was particularly memorable, with the German youngster firing home emphatically from inside the area after good work down the right flank by Hector Bellerin.

Gnabry and Bellerin, along with striker Chuba Akpom, who scored twice against Chelsea, can be seen as the players who impressed the most for the club throughout the course of the tournament, whilst praise should also be directed in the direction of second-years Isaac Hayden and Kristoffer Olsson, who continued to enhance their burgeoning reputations with some impressive displays in the competition.

Arsenal’s adventure in Italy didn’t end with the semi-final, however, as they still had a 3rd/4th place play-off to fulfil against Sporting Lisbon, with the Portuguese side, who appeared the more determined to win, eventually prevailing 3-1, despite Thomas Eisfeld, who has not been at his best recently, scoring for Arsenal after capitalising on some poor defending.

Aston Villa, containing Samir Carruthers, who refused a scholarship at Arsenal, and Lewis Kinsella, who was released by the Gunners, were crowned champions after defeating Chelsea in the Final, but the glut of games kept coming for Arsenal, with the second-string travelling to the South Coast last night to take on Southampton.

Craig Eastmond gave Arsenal the lead with a fine strike, just his third in over 50 appearances at Reserve/U21 level, but Southampton were the more impressive performers thereafter and ran out deserved 2-1 victors. Arsenal were shorn of several of their flair players, such as Gnabry and, for the most part, Olsson, and evidently lacked the creative streak that usually defines their game-plan. With the majority of the NextGen side given the night off, the team mainly consisted of players unlikely to make the grade at Emirates Stadium, including some, such as Eastmond, Sanchez Watt and Conor Henderson, who are likely to depart as early as this summer.

A far stronger U21 side is likely to be named for the trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Monday afternoon as the Elite Group draws towards a conclusion. The game could be a notable one, with promising Germany U16 midfielder Gedion Zelalem, who has already trained with the first-team on several occasions, set to make his first official appearance for the club having finally received international clearance last week.

Arsenal have also offered a trial to 14-year-old striker Airan Rodriguez, who has impressed for Club Deportivo Vallinamar in the Canary Islands, with the youngster set to arrive in London next week.

Jeorge Bird is the author of  www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com  Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird