Arsenal lost FA Youth Cup final but for Wilsheres talented side, this isnt the end
Arsenal Under-18s had a special journey to this year’s FA Youth Cup final.
Jack Wilshere’s side produced two superb comeback wins and two separate last-minute winners helped strengthen the bond of this squad even more.
They were met by an even tighter-knit group in West Ham last night, losing 5-1 at the Emirates to the team that also lifted the Under-18 Premier League South title this season. It was a disappointing end to the cup run for Wilshere’s team, but the experience should add to the constant growth of these players rather than halt their progress.
Advertisement
“I never had that feeling (of make or break),” Wilshere said. “Youth football is never make or break. You measure their development over a period of time, not on one night, one occasion or one season.
“At the level they’re at, it’s so important you see the right intentions and I do see that with this group. Yes, we’ll make mistakes because the playing style is hard. If you see the way our first team play, you have to be fluid and have an understanding of the way they play. We’ll make mistakes but if I see the right intentions, you can push that on players. The outcome looks after itself.
“The next step for their learning is playing in front of these crowds and realising that sometimes, even if you have the right intentions, the crowd aren’t going to understand that. These games are massive for that.”
By reaching the FA Youth Cup final, players from both teams were exposed to a much bigger platform than they would normally be used to. There were 34,127 fans in attendance at the Emirates Stadium, with West Ham’s ever-vocal travelling support filling the Clock End. As well as being a prestigious and sought-after trophy, this tournament is often a showcase of the strength of academies in England. On this occasion, Arsenal crossed paths with a side performing exceptionally.
With one game left to play, West Ham are 16 points clear of second-placed Crystal Palace in the U18 Premier League South. In the national final, they will face Manchester City who, by comparison are just four points clear at the top of the U18 Premier League North (albeit with a game in hand on second-placed Sunderland).
This was not too dissimilar to Arsenal’s last appearance in an FA Youth Cup final — they lost 7-1 over two legs to Chelsea in 2018, which was the fifth year in a row the west London club had lifted the trophy.
Advertisement
Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Folarin Balogun all made appearances across those two legs five years ago. Since then, two have become England internationals, while the other is breaking records in Ligue 1 with Reims. That team’s captain, Daniel Ballard, went on to prove himself as a trustworthy Championship centre-back on loan to Blackpool and Millwall before moving to Sunderland permanently last summer.
Football careers are far from linear, but the platform provided by the FA Youth Cup run can still be beneficial for Arsenal. At each stage, players have shown why they are at the club.
Reuell Walters’ powerful forward run that led to Omari Benjamin’s opener yesterday may have surprised some, but he made similar bursts to “change the picture” when given the opportunity against Cambridge United in the quarter-final. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s sharp touches and quick bursts of acceleration came in flashes in the final, but were game-changers in both the quarter-final and semi-final — also played at the Emirates.
“My job is to give Mikel and the club some players,” Wilshere added. “Of course we wanted to win the youth cup, but these boys are on a good pathway and it’s important we keep supporting them in the same way.
“Some of these boys will now go on to the Under-21s with a coaching staff who will keep supporting them, but I said to the first-years that next year we come back for more. But it’s not just the youth cup, it’s from now until the end of their scholarship to earn a pro contract. It’s my job to support them and get them in the best position to do that.”
Some of those players are already well established in Arsenal’s Under-21s. Walters, Amario Cozier-Duberry and Lino Sousa start regularly for Mehmet Ali’s side, while Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri have been given tasters of that level throughout the season. There have also been mid-season trips to Dubai and pre-season ventures to Germany and the US with the first team.
Advertisement
They have already been on the radar internally, but this cup run has put more eyes on them externally.
“These boys are watched and assessed daily by the coaching team,” academy manager Per Mertersacker said before the final. “Whether they are with the under-18s, under-21s, training alongside the first team or have a chance to train with the first team properly, they are opportunities where they are watched.
“Do we think we’re going to create more opportunities for them? Absolutely yes. It’s on everyone’s radar that we have to keep producing youngsters who are home grown within our first team. That will always be the case and if they’re good enough, no one will be rejected, I can reassure you.
“Maybe the pathway gets a bit tougher but we’re to support and pick them up in adverse moments. It’s not going to be the rosy pathway that everyone sees on social media. There’s going to be tough and difficult moments. They will go through patches when disappointment will be involved. I’m sure it will be more difficult to get in a Champions League squad but they will get these opportunities and they will be watched.”
There is no guarantee that anyone in Wilshere’s squad will go on to play regularly for Arsenal’s first team — the players are simply too young for predictions to be made. The key is that there is now a core group, with each player having a decent chance of making a career in professional football which, in essence, is the purpose of the academies.
If those careers are at Arsenal, great. If not, then as Mertesacker has said previously, academy graduates could potentially fund Arsenal’s other investments — Alex Iwobi, Joe Willock and Emiliano Martinez attracted good transfer fees when they moved on.
The trophy could have been a reward for the foundation and framework built and maintained by Mertesacker and his staff over the last five years, but it has been clear throughout their journey that development at youth level is more long-term than the result of one match.
Advertisement
Failing to end their run of 14 years without a FA Youth Cup trophy will hurt, but providing a platform for the fruits of Arsenal’s academy is much more important.
(Photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k21samtpbnxzfJFsZmlsX2eDcK3RrJynmZxis6J52KisraBdmMKxecWipZqkXZmyp7HArWY%3D