Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal first team were among a large crowd who witnessed Steve Bould’s Under 18’s take a 4-1 lead in the F.A Youth Cup Final 1st leg this evening at Emirates Stadium.
Goals from Gilles Sunu, Jack Wilshere (pen) Sanchez Watt and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas help give Bould’s boys a firm grip on the trophy ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield.
Yet the result could have been so different had Liverpool capitalised on the possession and energy they showed in the opening stages. The game began with a high tempo which both sides handled well, but an overzealous challenge on Emmanuel Frimpong seemed to settle things.
On the 15 minute mark Frimpong’s thigh injury got the better of him, and the teary Ghanaian born midfielder departed with Sanchez Watt replacing him. It was a bitter blow for the youngster who had been one of the lynch-pins of the whole Cup run.
But Watt announced himself in style by lashing an effort into the side netting before the Gunners stepped up their play and bagged themselves the opener. A smooth move involving Lansbury and Wilshere saw Gilles Sunu put through 1-1 with the ‘keeper – the Frenchman made no mistake with a clam finish into the corner.
On 33 minutes the pressure tolled once more. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ drilled free kick was spilled by Bouzanis right into the path of Watt. The winger tried to turn but was clipped down by Chris Buchtmann. A penalty was given. Jack Wilshere stepped up and drilled home to double the advantage.
But just as the tie seemed to be slipping away from Liverpool, Alex Kacaniklic went down the other end and pulled one back. After seeing Bartley block his first effort, the visitors number 11 crashed a superb volley to make it 2-1.
The half time whistle came and went with further Arsenal chances, before Sanchez Watt and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas with a bullet header from Lansbury’s corner sealed an outstanding win.
There was just time for Rhys Murphy to find the back of the net – but it was offside. However, that said, it really was the perfect evening for the young Gunners.
Article By – J.Sanderson
wow so quick
i couldve sworn it was a glancing header and not a bullet header from JET LOL
That was so friggn’ fast, I was just looking for a review!
what a performance from the lads!!
feel sorry for rhys he was onside! stupid fat linesman!
Was the Pole in Goal? He’s world class.
Shea was in goal.
Thanks. Pole probably with first team
no way was that an offside, Murphy was on by a least two yards.
Good result, solid defending. Some room for improvement in the overall team performance.
Liverpool’s spanish centre half should have been sent off for fouls commmitted in both the first and then the second half too.
Roll on Tuesday 26th!
Szczesny is too old I believe. I thought it was a great performance and such a shame that Murphy’s goal was (wrongly) disallowed.
Ona funny note, it was really refreshing to see Jack, J and Kyle doing an interview without any apparent media training (except for Jay maybe). Saying that, McAteer is so much worse than them, he’s a terrible pundit and doesn’t have a clue what he’s saying.
brilliant game… jack was so far ahead of the other 21 players on the pitch it was frightening.. saying that all the lads played very well.
In fairness to the liverpool lads they started the game the better side. the goal we got was a sucker punch that they never recovered from
well done lads
ahhh i wanna see the interview! how long do u reckon it will take for skysports to talk about the game?
We may rue missing so many chances, and the cunt Scouse linesman… But fuck it, we are by far the best!
Liverpool got off the hook. it could have been 5 or 6 and they could easily have been down to 10 men on more than one occasion. we need to make sure that does not come back to haunt us. really well played tonight lads, go and finish the job at Anfield. Become men.
Did anyone hear thomas ince say our back four is not good!!LOL liverpool didnt create more than 1 shot on goal. I thought ayling and bartley were outstanding. Jason Mcater a joke as well arsenal were in 1st gear for god sakes liverpool defence is shokcing and hes says adam pepper was a huge loss
Pound for pound, age for age this team is one of the best i have ever seen!
McAteer also said that Coquelin is a similar player to Wilshire! And I’d doubt whether Sky will talk about it, you can find some info on thefa.com and arsenal.com
@ John, thomas ince was really being stupid, the 2 CB outplayed him and Dalla Valle, may be he was starting to believe in his own hype. Adam Pepper would have given them more guile but he can physically overpowered. Our U18s have beaten 4 teams top of their academy leagues at the time we played them away from home, so if they apply themselves well then we have in the team.
How come this team is so good, but our reserves are so crap? Is it not basically the same people? plus a couple of more experience players
Crocker93 It’s becouse when we play reserves they no restrictions on how old the players can be. You can see players from 18 upwards so the reserves sides we play have much more experience than ours.
The difference between U-18 and the reserves is big. These players are gifted (as someone mentioned, probably one of the best youth teams to come around in a long, long time). But when they play in the reserves their facing several players who are experienced in Prem 1st team football. They are just getting their feet wet with that level of competition, but next year they will start to adjust and perform with the Reserves closer to what they do at U-18 level.
The reserves aren’t crap, they simply come up against far more experienced players. We’re very rare in not playing any senior players (barring those returning from injury). Other teams play they’re ageing players or ones who are on the fringes of the 1st team.
Maybe because the other teams quite often also play their first team players?
Cracker93 – is it the same as the difference between men and boys?
What a performance by the boys!! Jack was a beast in midfield (despite his not-so-beast-like size :D)!! JET didn’t have one of his best games and was a bit too casual at times IMO BUT he still produced so kudos to him. Was it just me or did they keep mispronouncing Wilshere??? I found it funny tho :D I also heard the Coquelan’s just like Wilshere comment and I think I fell over laughing (“,). Pity Frimpong had to go off though but it was a blessing in disguise coz it freed up Jack!!! 3-0 to the boys in the second leg should do :>) Shoutout to Amoo (or however the hell you spell it), he really stood out for the Pool. Caused Tom Cruise a lot of problems on that wing.
Did JET or Lansbury play CM after Frimpong went off? Unlike some past youth teams which seemed to be all attack I really think it’s the CM we now have so much depth and class in. Not to take anything away from the attack, we still have guys like Wilshere I’m sure will make it but in the past we’ve had goal machines at this level like Aliadiere, Bendtner (yes feel free to laugh) and Lupoli.
Seems like the players in this team are a lot more versatile and if we are missing one or two players we have the depth. It seems like this team is more of a pass-and-move team and not based on individual talent. As someone prev mentioned they also have played a heap of games.
Frimpong and Coquelin have even shunted Randall out of CM in the reserves so they are getting loads of games under their belt. If we don’t buy an experienced DM in the summer these 2 will be our “Carling Cup” midfield next season to see if they are ready to make the step up the season after in true Wenger style.
I was at the game and the performance exceeded that of Spurs in QF and they were good that day. 4-5-1 did not work, Watt on for 4-4-2 worked a blinder. I wish we put them all away and scored bout 8. Frimpong was MOTM personally. He is DM they need to get real, Wilsheresque my arse. Just hope they hold out away. Joe Kennedy was the worst captain what a fat arrogant player.
£3 a ticket everyone should have been there…
Can someone shed some light on whether they were both deserved Red Cards when they went 1 on 1 or were we over reacting? Because we thought yellows were v lenient but aint seen replays.
hey can you please post a video of the game? please.
yes non-UK supporters like me would really like to see the highlights of the game :(
Спасибо, интересно было прочитать.
Guys i was really impressed with Thomas Cruise hes looks a classy player. I think hes a better centre half than left back but next couple of years he will get stronger and quicker. His technique and awareness is brilliant.
Also Henri Lanbsury is a very clever player with his one touch vision i would love to see him play CM,
frimpong motm !!! strange he played barely 15 mins and gave the ball away and was late to every tackle!!! what game was you watchin olliepop? wilshere and lansbury were a cut above the rest!! lansbury looks very dangerous cuttin in from the right wing and pickin up the ball just short of the stikers his passin is fantastic and has got a bit of bite in him!!!
what a preformance wilshere was great lets hope we can win the cup next week come on young guns !
Sunu, Watt, Coquelin, Wilshere, Lansbury, Bartley and Ayling were a cut above the rest last night. Well played boys. Now bring it home on Tuesday night.
http://www.soccerclips.net/videos/arsenal-u18-4-1-liverpool-u18-emmanuel-thomas
JET was even better than Wilshere, I think. He is surprisingly good at dribbling, and plays amazing passes from time to time. I’ looking forward to him feature in the first team. Huge bastard. :D
Any goal highlights?
please post links for highlights or maybe full match,i m eagerly waiting for it…..an arsenal fan from india
People is the anywhere where i can see the goals? Keep missing it on setanta news!
People is the anywhere where i can see the goals? Keep missing it on setanta news!
Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!
http://www.soccerclips.net/videos/arsenal-u18-4-1-liverpool-u18-emmanuel-thomas
@ Olliebop – I presume you mean Coquelin? Also, I’d have said that their centre-back, Ayala, should definitely have been off. As for their keeper, it was probably just a yellow.
Shame about Pongo going off so early.Good to see Murphy back to his school boy form, and scoring a cracking “goal” as well. I’m wondering if he’s lost a bit of crucial pace. I do wish people would stop saying he’s just a goal scorer. He’s got everything.
Emmanuel-Thomas was amazing. I was at the game and he was dictating the play. He was strong, made tackles, played some excellent passes and scored a goal with his head!
FUTURE ARSENAL:
Bartley, Emmanuel-Thomas, Frimpong, Wilshere, Coquelin and Sunu will definitely make it at the top level.
lol, that was Emmanuel-Thomas, Frimpong went off injured..
http://www.youtube.com/user/supergunner07, somes goals
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How many of these young lads will get a chance to prove their worth at the next level? I’m glad Wenger and the crew saw Arsenal whip some butt. Arsenal needs lots of help next year. Do you think Wenger will bring some talent in from South America? I heard you mention Javer Pastore from Argentina. When you get a chance check out the 18-under South American Tourney. Lots of good young players. Check it out on GOL-TV or Fox Espanol. Now it’s on to The Champions League Finals. I want Manchester United to win. It should be a blood bath. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the best strikers in the world. It should be fun to watch them put their talent on display for the rest of the world. Thanks for reading my site. Bobby Gee http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
yer sorry was quite with it when I wrote last night… i meant Coquelin. He won everything. I personally thought in comparison to the rest of the midfield JET lossed the ball too much.
Im suprised nobody has mentioned Eastmond he gave Lansbury so much freedom and Ayling was nuts…
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