Pre-Match Report

Preview: Cheltenham Town v Arsenal U-18s

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji

We kick off our FA Youth Cup campaign on Wednesday night when we face Cheltenham Town at Jonny-Rocks Stadium. 

THE STORY SO FAR

Ken Gillard’s under-18s have made a mixed start to the season, but have produced some impressive results along the way.

We put five goals past Aston Villa early on, as a Ben Cottrell brace alongside goals from Miguel Azeez, Alfie Mathews and Sam Greenwood secured a comprehensive away victory.

Azeez then scored again in our 3-0 Premier League Cup success against Wolves and, last time out in the league, we twice battled back from a goal down to claim a 2-2 draw with high flying Fulham, away from home.

THE OPPOSITION

The Robins started their campaign strongly as they swept past Eastleigh in the first round, to set up a second-round tie with Portsmouth.

An eventful match at Jonny-Rocks Stadium saw 12 goals shared between the two sides, as the hosts progressed into the third round with a 8-4 victory.

Callum Ebanks scored four goals in the win, while Charlie Stanton bagged a brace.

ONE TO WATCH

Azeez has featured prominently for our under-18s this season, scoring once and registering two assists.

The midfielder signed his first professional contract with the club in October, and featured for our under-21s in a narrow defeat to Peterborough in the Leasing.com Trophy.

Calm on the ball with the ability to turn defence into attack, Azeez has flourished in either a deep midfield role or in a more advanced position.  

Azeez

FOLLOW THE ACTION

You can receive live updates by following our Twitter account @ArsenalAcademy

Stay close to Arsenal.com for our match report and post-match reaction from Ken Gillard.

By Sam Cox

See Full List

Fixtures & Results

Premier League
Ticket Info