The football season is back in full swing for our academy sides, and with the games already coming thick and fast here is everything you need to know from this weekend.
U21s: West Ham United 2-3 Arsenal
It all began on Friday night as the under-21s edged a 3-2 thriller against West Ham United at Rush Green Stadium, with summer signing Marquinhos grabbing two goals (report and photos)
The Brazilian netted twice before the interval, with James Olayinka grabbing the all-important third after the restart as we made it two wins from two in Premier League 2.
Boss Mehmet Ali was thrilled with his players' efforts, saying: "At the start of the season half, I thought we were excellent. We had a lot of forward momentum and we caused them a lot of problems and created a lot of chances. We got our reward and got a goal, and I think we could have got another couple.
"We didn't get them and gave a sloppy one away and it goes to 3-2. Credit to West Ham, they kept coming and I was really pleased with the boys for the way they dug deep for the last 15-20 minutes to not concede."
Meanwhile, Olayinka was also satisfied with his performance: "I'm really happy, I feel like I've had a good pre-season and I've stayed injury free which is the main difference from last year and I think that's starting to show on the pitch.
"All round, I think all of us played well today, and we dominated the game from start to finish, but it's always good to get a goal and an assist as well."
U18s: Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea
Jack Wilshere took charge of his first game as head coach of the under-18 side, who narrowly fell to defeat at the hands of Chelsea at London Colney on Saturday.
Leo Castledine netted the only goal for the Blues after five minutes, and despite plenty of pressure from our Young Gunners, especially towards the end, we couldn't quite grab the point our play deserved (full report).
Afterwards, Wilshere reflected on his debut in the dugout, saying: "I'm loving every minute of it: training, into matchday, building up for a game, I'm really enjoying it. Birch [Adam Birchall] has been next to me helping me, and has loads of experience in academy football and how it runs, so I'm really enjoying it.
"Today I'm kicking every ball, and sometimes I'm enjoying it and sometimes I'm not, and that's the rollercoaster."
Midfielder Bradley Ibrahim also had his say on the 90 minutes: "Today we didn't get what we deserved, in my opinion. But this is our first game, and if we keep implementing what Jack wants us to, he's been great with us since he's come in.
"It's about not being set back by not winning today. If we keep working, hopefully next time we'll get the result we need."
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