Arsenal U18s secured the southern division title today with a 3-0 victory away to Fulham.
The young Gunners knew that a victory would be sufficient to see them crowned champions, regardless of how their title rivals Tottenham Hotspur fared against Leicester City.
Arsenal had to be patient to take the lead, and they didn’t go ahead until the 77th minute when right-back Vontae Daley-Campbell managed to steer the ball home from close range in what could be one of his final games for the club.
Shortly afterwards it was 2-0, with prolific striker Folarin Balogun managing to find the net with an impressive strike.
There was still time for Arsenal to add a third goal, and it was Trae Coyle who scored it, with the winger dispatching a curled effort beyond the reach of Fulham goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond.
Arsenal will now hope to be crowned overall champions and they will take on the northern division winners, either Liverpool or Derby County, as they go in search of further silverware.
Ken Gillard’s side have produced some outstanding performances this season, and Balogun has undoubtedly been their star performer with 25 goals.
It isn’t just the attacking players that have caught the eye, though, with the defence, marshalled by the impressive central-defensive pairing of Mark McGuinness and Harry Clarke, having also performed extremely well.
Making the breakthrough into the first-team at Arsenal is another matter entirely for these youngsters and will certainly be a difficult task, but the performances that they have delivered have been very encouraging and suggest that perhaps one or two of them could eventually get into the senior squad.
Sam Greenwood, who has excelled since joining from Sunderland, is one of those most likely to succeed, with the 17-year-old having impressed on the right wing, while he is also capable of playing up front.
Victory in the final would be an added bonus for Arsenal, but they have already enjoyed a spectacular season.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Can’t wait to see some of the young boys in the first team. Senior team needs to learn how important it is to finish above Spurs from these young kids.
I really really really hope a couple of the youngsters impress Emery in pre season. A big chunk of the senior squad seem to lack any sense of character when the going is tough. The Academy has probably never looked as good as it does now. We’re sitting on a gold mine of homegrown talent. Nketiah should be bound for a bundesliga loan next season. Nelson and Saka should be pushing for some of the vacancys that will be left after the summer cleanout. Willock definitely has the physicality to be a squad player next year, with elneny probably gone.… Read more »
Finally they are winning something. They should replace U18 with the main team.
Massive congratulations to our U18. Our fist team can learn a thing or two from these guys
I was part of a fist team once. We were always up to our elbows in it.
Well done boys! COYG
Hey Jeorge, thanks for the great write-up!
Any idea why Daley-Campbell is leaving? Some amateur Googling shows Leipzig and a few clubs are after him, but we haven’t officially offered him a contract.
On the whole it seems like Per is doing a great job but are youngsters increasingly getting their heads turned by continental clubs?
Thanks!
There have been suggestions that he feels he will have a better chance of getting into the first-team elsewhere, but nothing confirmed yet. Youngsters leaving for foreign clubs is a concern, but it isn’t a problem exclusive to Arsenal.