Arsenal U18s and U23s suffer defeats

Yesterday wasn’t a particularly good day for Arsenal U18s and U23s, with both teams suffering heavy defeats.

The U18s fell to a 5-1 loss at home to West Ham United, with Alfie Matthews scoring from the penalty spot.

Matthews, who was linked with Newcastle United recently, also trained with the first-team yesterday.

It was a slightly younger Arsenal side than usual, with schoolboys Zach Awe and Khayon Edwards both starting.

There was a positive to take from proceedings for Arsenal, though, with midfielder Miguel Azeez returning from injury to make his first appearance of 2020.

The U23s, meanwhile, were beaten 3-0 away to Liverpool.

Steve Bould’s team were deprived of the services of some key players, with the absence of captain Robbie Burton, who missed out through injury, keenly felt.

Joel Lopez made his U23s debut at left-back, with Ryan Alebiosu also receiving a runout in the second half and centre-back Alex Kirk got his first callup at this level.

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