Arsenal U21s continued their impressive start to the season with a 1-0 victory over their West Bromwich Albion counterparts in front of over 2000 supporters at Emirates Stadium last night.
Serge Gnabry, one of three first-team players on show for the Gunners, scored the only goal of the game, with the German winger doing superbly to latch onto Isaac Hayden’s long pass and volley an unstoppable shot past West Brom goalkeeper Jack Rose. Arsenal really should have opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute, but Ryo Miyaichi somehow squandered an opportunity from close range.
Arsenal were dominant for the majority of the first-half and, in truth, should have gone into the break with a bigger lead intact. There were nine minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first 45 minutes following an injury to West Brom left-back Bradley Garmston, which made it difficult for both sides to rekindle their momentum.
Arsenal continued to dominate in the second-half, with captain Kristoffer Olsson coming close to scoring, whilst full-backs Hector Bellerin and Daniel Boateng were determined to get forward at every possible opportunity. Emmanuel Frimpong, meanwhile, was impressive in central-midfield, whilst, for the most part, an Arsenal defence marshalled by Hayden kept a West Brom side containing the experienced Zoltan Gera at bay.
West Brom did eventually carve out some goalscoring opportunities in the dying stages, and Arsenal were especially grateful to trialist goalkeeper Matthew Macey, who made several impressive saves to preserve the lead. Substitutes Alex Iwobi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles added pace to the attack, but, despite Boateng coming close late on, Arsenal couldn’t add to the scoreline.
1-0 was sufficient on this occasion, however, and coach Steve Gatting will take great heart from the fact that, after a torturous pre-season, his side have registered seven points from their first three U21 league games this campaign. With the UEFA Youth League set to get underway next week and the Capital One Cup just around the corner, there is much to look forward to for the club’s youngsters.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Matthew Macey-8- The goalkeeeper, who is on trial from Bristol Rovers, was underworked for much of the evening, but produced some outstanding saves when called upon.
Hector Bellerin-7- Still prone to some lapses defensively, the Spanish right-back was a threat going forwards.
Semi Ajayi-7- Another trialist, Ajayi is a good reader of the game who is comfortable in possession.
Isaac Hayden-7- Made his first-team debut in a friendly this summer and, on this showing, it won’t be too long until he receives another call-up to the senior team.
Daniel Boateng-6- Was surprisingly effective as an unorthodox left-back as he motored forwards with ease.
Emmanuel Frimpong-7- Evidently not yet fully fit, but played some impressive passes and won the ball well.
Kristoffer Olsson-6- Played some neat through-balls, but didn’t really dominate the game.
Ryo-5- The Japanese winger endured an off-night as he failed to impose himself on proceedings.
Thomas Eisfeld-6- Didn’t seem entirely suited to his playmaker role, but still embarked on several dangerous dribbles.
Serge Gnabry-8- Evidently the man-of-the-match, Gnabry’s control and passing matched his exquisite finish.
Chuba Akpom-6- The England U19 striker worked hard up front but couldn’t find the finishing touch in front of goal.
Substitutes
Ainsley Maitland-Niles-6- Could have scored immediately after replacing Ryo.
Alex Iwobi-6- Provided a threat as the West Brom defence tired.
Glen Kamara-5- Had little time in which to impose himself.
Not used: Deyan Iliev, Leander Siemann, Anthony Jeffrey.
Gallery
These images were taken by Kieran Clarke. Find him on Twitter, here. Other links: Flickr, Facebook.
