Arsenal U21s will bring their season to an end tomorrow afternoon when they host their Manchester City counterparts.
City have already been crowned Premier League 2 champions following a superb campaign that has seen them win 17 of their 25 matches so far. Attacking midfielder Josh Adam is amongst the City players to be wary of.
Arsenal, meanwhile, started the campaign impressively and at one stage appeared to be set to challenge City for the title.
However, Mehmet Ali’s side have struggled for results in the second half of the season and only recently ended a long winless run that stretched back several months.
Schoolboy midfielders Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri have both made excellent progress this season and the pair could be involved tomorrow. It remains to be seen whether it will be Nwaneri’s final appearance for the club as he has still yet to commit to a scholarship deal ahead of next season.
Reuell Walters may be required to train with the first-team again, but the U21s are likely to be able to call upon Amario Cozier-Duberry, with the winger having arguably been the club’s standout performer at this level this season.
City will certainly pose a difficult challenge but Arsenal have some creative and attacking talents of their own who are capable of causing damage.
It may also be a final appearance at this level for some players, with Matt Smith amongst those who are likely to make the step of moving elsewhere on a permanent basis before the start of next season.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Frustrated to lose Nwaneri as I don’t see a better first team pathway at City / Chelsea, but they probably have the most competitive group of players at his age group in the world, so I understand why he might make the move. It would be interesting to see if that means we bring Lewis Skelly closer to the first team as a result, he looks like such an exciting young player.