Wilshere: "A game of two halves"

Under-18s head coach Jack Wilshere gave his thoughts after our young Gunners fell to a 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

Chido Obi-Martin gave us an early lead after just two minutes, but Brighton equalised just before halftime. We were reduced to ten men, when Brian Okonkwo was shown a red card early in the second half, allowing the away side to capitalise on the numerical advantage and score two more goals, securing the three points.

“It was a game of two halves,” said Wilshere. “I thought we were very good in the first half and dominated the game. I challenged the team after last week to make better decisions, be better in possession and be better technically, and I thought we were. 

“In the first half, it was clear what we were trying to do, you could see our playing style but then we got a red card in the second half which changed the game.

“There were moments in the first half where I would have liked us to be more decisive because we created a good amount of chances but we only scored one goal. 

“I also thought that we conceded a sloppy goal before half time, especially when you’re dominating to get done in behind with one pass is difficult to take but it’s learning for the players.”

Wilshere stressed the importance of converting domination into goals, citing the recent successes of the first team, who secured 5-0 and 6-0 victories in their last two Premier League matches.

“I think you see with the first team in the Premier League that they’ve been recently killing off teams early and dominating with their style,” said Wilshere. “When they’re creating those chances, they’re being very decisive and making them count. 

“Of course, this is development football but that’s where the players want to get to and there comes a time where they have to start executing those moments in games. As you get older when you get to the under-21s and first team, the moments don’t come around as often and the games are more tighter."

Despite the result, Jack Wilshere remained optimistic, pointing out the two-week gap until the next game as an opportunity for improvement.

“I thought the response this week to last week’s performance was exceptional. We trained very hard and we improved a lot within a week. 

“The message to the players is that we have two weeks until our next game and how much better can we get in that time.”