Mehmet Ali’s young Gunners ended the Premier League 2 regular season in style with an impressive 2-0 win away at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
We thought we had the perfect start when Amario Cozier-Duberry seemingly put us in the lead, only for his effort to be disallowed for offside.
We continued to press forward, with Jurrien Timber and Ismeal Kabia showcasing their chemistry down the left flank. Their combination play set up a promising opportunity for Ethan Nwaneri, whose shot from outside the area was well-saved.
Our persistence paid off as we finally broke the deadlock with a brilliant team move. Ismeal Kabia made an incisive run, finding Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, who then cleverly squared it across the face of the goal for Amario Cozier-Duberry to tap in, giving us a well-deserved lead.
Barely a moment after the restart, we doubled our advantage in spectacular fashion. Cozier-Duberry cut inside and unleashed a magnificent curling strike into the top corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
After the break, Brian Okonkwo showcased excellent goalkeeping prowess with a sensational triple save to deny the hosts. He twice thwarted Lewis Koumas before denying Kaide Gordon, demonstrating his agility and reflexes to keep our clean sheet intact.
Our attacking threat remained potent, with Nathan Butler-Oyedeji coming close to adding to our tally. He surged towards goal, but his effort was well-parried away by the opposition goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick for us.
We managed to see out the game comfortably, maintaining our lead and securing a crucial victory on the road. This impressive win provides us with momentum as we head into the play-offs.
What it means
The result means we finish in fifth in the Premier League 2 regular season with 36 points after 20 games.
What's next
Given that we finished in the top 16 places, we have qualified for the Premier League 2 play-offs.
As we finished fifth, we will face 12th-placed Manchester United at Meadow Park in the opening round aiming to reach the quarter-finals.
Fixture dates and kick-off times are TBC.
Team news
Arsenal XI: Okonkwo, Sweet, Walters, Heaven, Timber (Quesada-Thorn, 71) Lewis-Skelly (Gower, 76), Henry-Francis, Nwaneri (Nicholas, 87), Cozier-Duberry, Kabia, Butler-Oyedeji
Subs not used: Ranson, Kamara
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
