Arsenal's under-18s head coach, Jack Wilshere, shared his thoughts after his side fought back from 3-0 down to secure a 3-3 draw for the second consecutive game.
Goals from Dan Casey, Andre Harriman-Annous, and Alex Marciniak helped Arsenal salvage a point after trailing by three goals within the first 25 minutes.
On the performance…
“It’s the second week in a row this has happened, but the positive is that we’ve shown real character and personality as a team. If you go 3-0 down two games in a row and come back, you probably deserve to win the game.
On making two first-half substitutions…
"When you play in this style, it’s crucial that everyone is switched on. If one player isn’t active or ready, it stands out. We saw that in the first half – some players weren’t as prepared as others. Credit to the lads who came on; it’s not easy to enter a game when you’re 3-0 down. I thought Samuel Onyekachukwu was outstanding at the back – he neutralised their attacking threat. But overall, the performance was good. We just switched off a few times, and at this level, with the quality of players on the pitch, you get punished for that.”
On the upcoming match against Brighton…
“We’ve got to put in the hard work. It’s been a bit challenging because some of the squad were away on international duty last week, so we haven’t had the whole team training together, which can disrupt the rhythm.
"When you don’t train as a unit, it’s tough to maintain the same standards. We need to get back to the intensity that made us successful at the start of the season. That’s what we’ll be focusing on this week – getting the training levels back to where they should be.”
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