After 22 days without a game of competitive football, Ben Sheaf is desperate to get back in action again.
Arsenal Under-23s were last in action against Chelsea on September 23, with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge seeing Steve Gatting’s side clock up their second win of the season.
With Southampton visiting Meadow Park on Friday, the Gunners now have an opportunity to build on that result – and Sheaf has urged his team-mates to take it.
"They’re similar to us, they bring their youngsters through and I’m sure it will be a really exciting game."
Ben Sheaf
“We’ve had the international break now, but we finished on a high with the win against Chelsea,” Sheaf told Arsenal.com. “We started off slowly in that game but I think overall it was a good performance. It was obviously a positive result and we’re looking to continue that run.
“We’ve got two wins now but form is definitely important, we need to string results together and that will help us to build a bit of momentum.
“It’s a little bit frustrating [to have a three-week break]. But a lot of the boys who played in that game didn’t go away on international duty so we’ve been training hard. It is a bit difficult - but I’m sure we’ll be alright.”
Southampton arrive at Meadow Park in second place in the Premier League 2 table, and Sheaf is looking forward to a face-off between two clubs who keep youth development at the top of their respective agendas.
“I’ve had a little look at them and they’re a good side - they’re top of the league and they have some good players,” he said. “But if we focus on our performance and we play the way we like to play, I think we can get a good result.
“They’re similar to us, they bring their youngsters through and I’m sure it will be a really exciting game.”
For updates on the action, follow @Arsenal on Twitter. Kick-off is at 7pm (UK time).
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