Incredible control at times and great mazy run in the first half but overall a bad day at the office. All part of the learning process I hope because I have no doubt he has the ability

Match Review – Tottenham Hotpur 1 Arsenal 3 – FA Youth Cup Quarter Final

Last night the wee Arsenal lads were in action against North London rivals ‘Sperz’ in the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup at Sh*te Hart Lane. The Arsenal young’uns are coached by Steve Bould and the Arsenal legend was hoping to lead his side into the semi finals of a competition the club have always regarded with great esteem.

Of course, the prospect of beating Tottenh*m in their own back yard provided extra incentive for the young guns. Whatever the level, whatever the competition, whatever the prize, an Arsenal victory against ‘them from up the road’ is always one to savour and the young ones certainly didn’t disappoint.

Both sets of players knew the importance of the 90 minutes ahead which meant the game started at a frenetic pace. Spurs lined up with two pacy wingers in Bostock and Townsend who regularly gave the Arsenal’s full backs Tom Cruise and Craig Eastmond something to think about. Within five minutes Arsenal were behind to a Jon Obika goal from close range after a great run down the left from Townsend.

Steve Bould named a very attacking 4-2-3-1 formation with a front four consisting of Sanchez Watt, Giles Sunu, Jack Wilshire and the versatile Jay Emanuel-Thomas which meant that Arsenal were certainly not going to allow to early setback to affect them too much. It wasn’t long before the attacking philosophy instilled throughout the club was on show with some neat exchanges up front.

Arsenal were certainly on the front foot for much of the first half, forcing a number of corners (all poor – another Arsenal trait) but to no avail. Jack Wilshire, a player many would have come to watch showed his obvious talent with a number of fine touches but was left frustrated as a lot of his efforts amounted to nothing. Jay Emanuel-Thomas looked like Arsenal’s biggest (literally! The boy is an absolute beast) threat while Giles Sunu was proving a handful for the Spuds defenders.

Such was the supremacy in the first half, centre backs Kyle Bartley and Luke Ayling often made way up the pitch to join in with attacks.

Despite their domination, the young guns went in a goal behind at half time although it could have been worse as the few occassions Tottenham did have the ball, they always looked dangerous on the counter attack. Obika squandered a great opportunity to double the lead on one such occasion.

The lead was not to last too long into the second half as Arsenal equalised quite fortunately through Kyle Bartley following a failed attempt to clear a Coquelin corner that hit the big centre back on the shoulder blade and found it’s way into the back of the net.

The equaliser made for a far more open game as Tottenham continuously attempted to bring Townsend – their greatest threat – into the game. The winger, whose pace and control led to the first goal would have reaped more benefits but for an Arsenal defence growing in confidence by the minute.

Jay Emanuel-Thomas started to take the game by the scruff of the neck and was showing incredible levels of stamina compared to his counterparts on both teams. Francis Coquelin and Emanuel Frimpong performed ably in midfield, the former demonstrating his fine passing ability while the later showing his willingness to ‘get stuck in’ with some strong tackles and all-round physicality time and time again.

The game looked to be heading for extra time as neither team could find the breakthrough. With this in mind, Giles Sunu – who had put in a good stint up front but was clearly tiring – was withdrawn for the more clinical Rhys Murphy who was returning from injury.

However, Emanuel-Thomas soon realised that his parents probably wouldn’t let him stay out beyond 10pm. The captain took centre stage and with 89 minutes on the clock, lashed a deflected shot past the Spuds keeper into the back of the net to win the game for the young guns. A real captain’s goal.

A clearly dejected Tottenham let their guard down and allowed a fresh-legged Rhys Murphy to find space from a fantastic Coquelin pass to coolly finish and make the game safe. 3-1 was probably a bit harsh on the hosts but what are you going to do?

The final whistle soon came and an Arsenal side had once again come from behind at Sh*te Hart Lane to claim victory. A semi-final against either Manchester City (Holders) or Norwich City awaits.

Now, it’s very difficult to know what to take from youth/reserve games but I’ll try to assess it in some way.

Positives:

Jay Emanuel-Thomas: Undoubtedly man of the match. By all accounts really stepping up to the plate this season. Performed admirably in attack and quite tellingly, according to the Setanta commentator, dropped in at sweeper following his goal – without instruction from the bench – in order to protect the advantage rather than resting on his laurels. One to watch for the future. Seems to have developed physically far quicker than most his age so literally stood head and shoulders above other players on the park.

Centre backs: Not sure I was a big fan of them bombing forward to join in the attacks so much but Ayling and Bartley looked comfortable enough dealing with most of what Spurs had to throw at them. Might have done better with the goal but looked assured from then on. Bartley can also take credit for helping spark the comeback – albeit somewhat fortuitously.

Midfield: Again, its difficult to take much from a youth team game but the Anti-Delinson/Song/Diaby fan club will look at the efforts of Coquelin and Frimpong and will be praying that these two can make the grade. It was like a VERY young Petit/Vieira combo. Frimpong doing all the grafting while Coquelin had the freedom to start many of the attacks with his passing ability. Have to say, I like these two as a partnership and wish them all the best for the future.

Negatives

Full backs: Eastmond got roasted by Townsend early on for the goal and seemed to struggle after that. Every time the ball was played down their left hand side you worried for Eastmond. Fortunately, the Tottenham man had obviously been training with Aaron Lennon because a lot of his delivery after beating our man was very poor and very easy to deal with for the centre backs. Tom Cruise wasn’t troubled as much by the much hyped Bostock but always looked like he could be exposed by the former Palace lad’s pace.

Jack Wilshire: As stated above, looked frustrated. Worked his ass off but nothing was going his way. Tried a couple of speculative shots that went wayward, often tried to be a bit too clever with his passes and got himself booked for kicking the ball away. Despite this, still looks like a class act. Incredible control at times and great mazy run in the first half but overall a bad day at the office. All part of the learning process I hope because I have no doubt he has the ability to push on for some regular appearances (not necessarily starts) in the first team next season.

Overall, a lot to be positive about and much to get excited about. Again, I must point out the attacking philosophy that is evident at all levels of football at Arsenal. While there were a lot of misplaced passes and wrong decisions etc (it’s to be expected), it was still a joy to watch at times. Also, you cant complain when it comes to beating Spurs.