It has been a disappointing second half of the season for Arsenal U21s in terms of results and one of the factors behind that has been the absence of Jack Henry-Francis.
The midfielder, who is effective both creatively and defensively, had been unavailable since January due to injury.
However, Henry-Francis made his return to action as a substitute in last week’s game at home to Brighton & Hove Albion and made an immediate impact during a dramatic 3-3 draw.
The introduction of the 19-year-old helped to bring greater composure to the Arsenal midfield as Mehmet Ali’s side managed to take a point from the game.
There are just three games remaining for the U21s this season, starting with Friday’s fixture at home to Fulham, and Henry-Francis will be determined to make as big an impact as possible.
Previously capped by the Republic of Ireland at youth level, Henry-Francis featured for the Arsenal first-team during pre-season in 2021 and gave a good account of himself but he hasn’t been heavily involved with the senior squad since then given that the club have several other midfield prospects.
Next season should see Henry-Francis go on loan for the first time and he seems like a player who would relish the intensity of senior football.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Playing Matt Smith in the advanced CB role as a DM is what derailed the U21 this season. Nothing more, nothing less.
in the absence of Jack Henry, Ibrahim Bradley is there, and there are other CBs who can move up into that advanced CB role as a DM.
Our U21 coach Ali, needs to learn never to compromise the team spine for anything.