Match preview: Arsenal U-23s v Monaco

THE STORY SO FAR

There’s a place in the Premier League International Cup semi-finals up for grabs when we host Monaco at Meadow Park on Tuesday evening.

We have made a 100 per cent start to our campaign so far, as we eased through the group stage with wins against Villarreal, Dinamo Zagreb and Leicester City.

Against the Yellow Submarine, goals from Nathan Tormey, Emile Smith Rowe and Trae Coyle gave us the perfect start, and we followed this up with another victory against Zagreb, thanks to a late Tyreece John-Jules winner.

Qualification was all but confirmed before our final group match against Leicester City, but we sealed our place in the last-eight with a 3-0 victory at Meadow Park.

So far, Steve Bould’s side have scored nine goals, kept two clean sheets and only conceded twice across three matches.

THE OPPOSITION

Monaco opened their campaign with a defeat to Derby County, but qualified for the knockout stages with convincing victories against Feyenoord and Southampton.

Against the Dutch outfit, Nordine Ibouroi opened the scoring in the first half, before Nabil Alioui’s strike and Romain Faivre’s penalty secured a 3-0 win.

They entered the match against the Saints knowing a win would secure their place in the quarter-finals, and they didn’t disappoint. After a goalless first half, Alioui netted twice before Owen Maes rounded off a 3-0 victory.

ONE TO WATCH

Jordan McEneff has risen to prominence in recent week after starting five of our last six league matches.

The versatile midfielder can play in either a defensive or advanced role, giving Bould a variety of options, and the 19-year-old has made the transition from our under-18s seamlessly.

Last season, McEneff was a part of the team that won the Under-18 Premier League South after featuring six times for Ken Gillard’s side.