Arsenal Under-18s ended 2013 with an undeserved defeat at home to Norwich.
The Gunners dominated from start to finish but fell behind on 28 minutes when defender Cameron Norman headed home from a corner.
Carl Laraman’s team created a host of clear-cut chances but an inspired performance from Norwich goalkeeper Ben Killip kept them at bay.
Arsenal started brightly as they went in search of their first league win since their opening weekend of the season.
In the third minute, Jack Jebb rattled the post with a close-range strike after good work on the right from Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Ten minutes later, Steffi Mavididi saw his chipped effort cleared off the line after good interplay between Daniel Crowley and Alex Iwobi.
The Canaries took the lead totally against the run of play when Norman rose highest to head past Ryan Huddart from a free-kick.
Laraman’s side continued to dominate despite going behind and saw two glorious opportunities go begging before the end of the half.
First, Killip denied Mavididi from point-blank range from Jebb’s cross before Crowley curled an effort off the post.
Arsenal continued to pour forward in the second half but they couldn’t find a way past Killip.
The Norwich stopper denied Crowley with a low save on 52 minutes before tipping away Maitland-Niles’ shot.
Substitute Christopher Willock missed the Gunners’ best chance of the second half when he was slipped through by Crowley - the young forward sent his effort into the side-netting.
It was a disappointing end to a tough first half of the season for Laraman’s team - they remain bottom of the Premier Academy League with nine points from 16 games.
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