Arsenal U21s were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea at Emirates Stadium as Abou Diaby made his long-awaited return to action.
Diaby played the entire first-half and played some impressive passes before being withdrawn in a pre-planned substitution, but the result was still a disappointing one for Arsenal, particularly given the impressive nature of their play in the first-half.
The young Gunners took the lead after Hector Bellerin finished well having latched onto Isaac Hayden’s through ball. With centre-back Julio Pleguezuelo substituted at the break because of injury, however, Arsenal lacked cohesion defensively in the second-half and were made to pay by a ruthless Chelsea team.
Chelsea equalised when Lewis Baker cleverly flicked the ball past Macey before taking the lead in the closing stages courtesy of John Swift’s header from Baker’s free-kick.
Arsenal had their moments, with the impressive Isaac Hayden rattling the crossbar, but they were outclassed in the second-half, with this defeat adding to a disappointing sequence of results at this level this season.
The result means that Arsenal will be playing in the second tier of U21 football next season, depriving them of the opportunity to play against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
They had their chances in the first-half, with Diaby seeing a shot saved and Carl Jenkinson directing a free-kick straight at Chelsea goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney.
Chelsea took over after the break, with winger Alex Kiwomya a persistent threat and striker Izzy Brown also dangerous. Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Macey made some good interventions to prevent further damage from being inflicted, but Chelsea were deserved of their victory and have now beaten Arsenal three times at various youth levels in the past two weeks.
Things looked far more positive for Arsenal in the first-half, with Bellerin, deployed as a right-winger, attacking readily and Semi Ajayi and Isaac Hayden, who have trained with the first-team regularly, also catching the eye.
Diaby demonstrated glimpses of his undoubted ability and his return will be seen as a major positive by manager Arsene Wenger, who has said that the midfielder could feature for the first-team before the end of the campaign.
Arsenal U21s end their season away to Newcastle United on Friday, and Diaby could well feature in that game as well as continues to build up his fitness, but the result will be of little significance, with a place in the upper echelons of the U21 League next season now beyond the young Gunners.
