‘It just wasn’t to be, they were just too strong’

Despite the result, Kwame Ampadu was rightly proud of his young side after Monday’s FA Youth Cup final.

Our youngsters showed great spirit in reaching the competition decider and although they would ultimately fall short against a powerful Chelsea side, our under-18s boss will still look back on our journey fondly.

Here’s what he said to Arsenal.com after the game.

on the game…

They are a very powerful side, a very strong side. Our boys have done magnificently well to get to this stage and the final. It just wasn’t to be, they were just too strong. 

on whether the scoreline flatters Chelsea…

We gave them a couple of soft goals with mistakes that they don’t make. We had a couple of half chances at the start of the first half. We were a little bit better in the second half but it didn’t quite fall for us.

on the team believing they could have turned the tie around…

Definitely. We definitely believed that but there’s just a little bit too much power in there for us. 

on what we have learnt from the defeat…

The boys can be proud of how hard they’ve worked this year. They’re definitely improving, they’re definitely getting better and that has to continue. It’s not just about the FA Youth Cup, though, it’s about these boys going on to get themselves careers at Arsenal or somewhere else, to make themselves better all the time. That’s what we’re here for. 

on gaining more experience at the next level…

They’ve got to get that experience at the next level and this is part of the experience. It’s not a very nice experience but it’s part of it, and they have to accept it. We have to dust ourselves down and go again.

on our FA Youth Cup run…

We’re definitely proud of the lads, but sometimes those things that you have to work on don’t get picked apart until you play against the very best teams and the very best players. That’s just something that will be part of our learning and hopefully we can be better for next year.