Frans de Kat says Arsenal Under-18s are prepared for their FA Youth Cup fifth-round clash against Crewe Alexandra after battling through a “real cup fight” against Royston Town.
Royston shocked Meadow Park by taking an early lead through Joe Grossi, but Stephy Mavididi scored a brace before half-time to secure Arsenal’s place in the fifth round.
After coming through a scare against non-league opponents, De Kat is confident the young Gunners have learnt from their mistakes and are ready to face Crewe Alexandra.
"We’d like to go as far as we can and Crewe have a good team and a good plan, so I’m looking forward to playing against them"
“It was a real cup fight,” the manager told Arsenal.com. “We knew Royston were going to fight for their lives and they brought a lot of fans with them, so we knew it would be a tough game and it was because they took the lead.
“We had to play the second ball better, so that was part of the problem. I think we had four big chances in the first half and we scored two so it was OK.
“I’m very pleased for Stephy. I knew he would score again after he scored a lot of goals at the beginning of the season. It was just about waiting for his goal, so I’m very pleased for him and the team.
“The FA Youth Cup is very important for everybody in the UK and I learnt that straight away," added De Kat. "We’d like to go as far as we can and Crewe have a good team and a good plan, so I’m looking forward to playing against them.
“The boys want to go all the way and all of the staff want to go all the way as well, so let’s go for it.”
Arsenal Under-18s host Crewe Alexandra on Monday. Kick-off is 7pm at The Hive and entry is free. There will be live updates on the @Arsenal Twitter feed from 6.55pm.
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