The Under-23s Thread

[MutableEarth]

We took a bit of a beating last night from Sunderland (3-1). To be fair we had many players out on International duty. I must say their striker Ahmed Abdullahi looked very impressive. He's probably not far off Sunderland's first team. Only bright sparks were Mooney, Ibrahim and Harriman Annous. The goal scored by Harriman Annous was a well worked goal.

Ibrahim was pretty good in possession mostly but he was atrocious off the ball. Him and Julienne are not the best pair defensively IMO, they only exacerbate each other's weaknesses in that area despite their chemistry when we have the ball. Hashi wasn't great aswell, the step up was a bit too much for him last night. It's telling that Mishel Nduka - a 15 year old - came on and looked like a giant compared to everyone else. Physically couldn't be dealt with. I really want to see more of him, he looks interesting. Mooney was OK aswell but I don't see that much in him, just seems to be decent all-round but doesn't have the threat of Biereth for example.

Harriman-Annous though was really good, he's probably been the best performer for us through this horrible period and I think he's improved so much over these last couple of months that I think he's ready to play first team football now. Specifically he's physically much stronger - that same striker Abdullahi, who bullied our defenders, bounces off Annous regularly and couldn't get near him whenever they duelled. He's starting to show some more personality aswell, demanding the ball, dribbling past people easily and connecting play with a bit more zip. His penalties are awful though, he wins a lot of them but he should probably practice them or stop taking them. Missed another one last night. Great finish for his goal though, he really deserved it.

I was really disappointed not to see Bailey-Joseph come off the bench - let alone he should be starting every game for this team. He was dropped for Archie Stevens who was ineffectual, then Seb Ferdinand who was similarly ineffective going forward. The forward line is lopsided, probably to accommodate Mooney playing upfront but Annous is probably the best CF option and Bailey-Joseph is the best LW option. Stevens and Mooney can fight it out for RW IMO, probably Mooney as he's much sturdier. It's a shame because Annous and Bailey-Joseph are easily the best attackers of the bunch and have to be shunted around and it's not even making us better.

Time to change it up for next season IMO.

 

[teamsoutheast]

Whilst focus was on the Ipswich game, our U21 team played League One's Leyton Orient tonight in the Papa John's Trophy. We surprisingly, won the game 2-1 which is a very good victory against men with such a young team and most senior U21's in the squad for the Ipswich game.

View attachment Arsenal U21 vs Leyton Orient (15.09.2026) _ Extended Highlights _ EFL Trophy (480p).mp4

 

[MutableEarth]

Whilst focus was on the Ipswich game, our U21 team played League One's Leyton Orient tonight in the Papa John's Trophy. We surprisingly, won the game 2-1 which is a very good victory against men with such a young team and most senior U21's in the squad for the Ipswich game.

View attachment 51502

Think a lot has to do with the defensive style Horseman has employed, similar to the first team. Has really gotten the best out of guys like Ogunnaike and Clarke for example, and having Jaden Dixon in there doesn't hurt either. Teshaun Murisa being back in midfield is also welcome, he's much better there.

I must admit I'm not crazy about Stevens and Scanlon but they're both very serviceable for this level and this should earn them a move or two later on. From what I saw, Emerson Nwaneri and Maalik Hashi looked pretty good. Evan Mooney also a good hard worker but like the aforementioned Stevens and Scanlon, don't see them being Arsenal first team options.

Another element is Ranson's kicking. Porter is a slightly better shotstopper IMO but Ranson's the best passer from GK.

 

[MutableEarth]

Anyone caught the game earlier today?

Was a really strong 1st half but couldn't beat Birmingham's keeper, and we had a really poor 2nd half IMO. Finished 0-0.

I did like Ibrahim's performance and I thought Hashi, O'Neill and Harriman-Annous were very good but once Hashi and O'Neill came off, our momentum fell off a cliff. On the plus side, defensively we look a lot more solid and Ranson's passing is very good at GK.

The attack needs a reboot but I understand at this point it's just about getting the main characters through the games. Guys like Stevens, Scanlon, Mooney (all 3 came off the bench) etc are just a bunch of guys. Hard workers yes, but outside of the odd moment from Scanlon, just very regular players. Agustien at least is very technical but does little with it. Tyjon was quite decent when he came on. I kinda see it with him but need to see him in a better attacking set-up. This team misses Brando Bailey-Joseph sorely. What a huge blow that injury is. Zecevic-John is also a big miss.