Arsenal under-21s were held to a 1-1 draw at Upton Park on Monday evening as they continue to try and achieve promotion to the first division of under-21 football.
The Gunners dominated much of the game but a superb performance from West Ham goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel and Krystian Bielik’s woeful defensive error saw Arsenal drop two points.
There was only one change from the side that beat Brighton two weeks ago as Calum Chambers was replaced by the exciting Dan Crowley, and it wasn’t long before Crowley began to make his presence felt. The midfielder made a superb jinking run towards goal before setting up Donyell Malen, whose shot was saved by Spiegel.
Spiegel made an even better save later in the half when he somehow turned Ben Sheaf’s venomous first-time shot over the bar, but it was to be West Ham who took the lead with a comical goal. From a throw-in, Sheaf gave the ball to Bielik in the penalty area who, under no pressure, tried to back header the ball to goalkeeper Matt Macey. The Pole failed to get the required power on his header, allowing Alex Pike to nip in and score the simplest of goals.
Arsenal were denied yet again by Spiegel when he saved from Jeff Reine-Adelaide before half time, but after the break, West Ham had two chances to go 2-0 up from more defensive errors: first Bielik gave the ball away but Jaanai Gordon could only shoot wide, then Julio Pleguezelo lost the ball near the corner flag and Macey had to make a fine save to deny Moses Makasi.
Malen was denied twice more by Spiegel as Arsenal searched for the equaliser, the second after he showed blistering pace to get away from the West Ham defence, before Willock finally beat Spiegel with nine minutes remaining. A lazy pass from a Hammers defender allowed Willock to burst down the left-hand flank before cutting inside and finding the net via a deflection to give Arsenal a point.
Next up for the under-21s is a home game against mid-table Aston Villa next Monday lunchtime.
