Pre-Match Report

Under-21s: Arsenal v West Brom - Preview

Glen Kamara

By Max Jones

Steve Gatting has urged Arsenal Under-21s to produce an improved performance when they take on West Bromwich Albion at Emirates Stadium tonight.

The Gunners were well in control of last Thursday’s clash with Derby County after taking the lead through Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ first-half strike, only to be pegged back by a soft equaliser from a late penalty.

The manager wants his side to raise their intensity when they face the Baggies and put on a good show for the Emirates faithful.

"There were things we need to improve on for next Thursday at the Emirates, such as possession, penetration and keeping the ball"

"I wasn’t overly happy with our performance,” Gatting told Arsenal.com. "I thought that, at times, we were a little bit disjointed. We gave the ball away too often when we didn’t need to.

"At times [we lacked] game intelligence in going into tight areas when we could’ve played around more. We created three or four decent chances throughout the game which we didn’t take."

The young Gunners are still unbeaten so far this season and have never lost at the Emirates, but Gatting insists there was still room for improvement on Thursday night.

"We’ve got four points but it’s not all about points, it’s about performances and last week I was happy against Reading,” he explained. “I thought it was a good performance. There were things we need to improve on for next Thursday at the Emirates, such as possession, penetration and keeping the ball, which is how Arsenal play.

"We also need to work on making the right decisions on the pitch, when to go through the inside and when to go round the outside and play the ball away from danger, and obviously putting the chances away that we create."

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