Arsenal on verge of Youth League elimination after latest defeat | OneFootball

The Arsenal u19s are on the verge of elimination from the UEFA Youth League after a comprehensive defeat to Sporting CP on Tuesday.

Photo via Dowman on Instagram

The Arsenal u19s played their fifth of six UEFA Youth League fixtures away to Sporting CP on Tuesday, having only picked up one win from their previous four games.

Qualification for the knockout stages was looking increasingly unlikely, and the young Gunners realistically needed to pick up at least a point to keep those hopes alive.

Yet they were coming up against an undefeated Sporting side impressing at the top end of the table, so they were never going to have an easy ride in Lisbon.

Photo via Arsenal.com

So it proved, with Sporting’s Gabriel Silva giving his team the lead just seven minutes into the match. Silva then turned provider 15 minutes later, setting up Denilson Santos for 2-0.

Arsenal did have a penalty shout after that, as Max Dowman went down in the area, but the referee waved play on, and the half ended without any further goals.

Dowman was Arsenal’s biggest threat in the second half, causing Sporting plenty of problems with his passing and skill. It was a shame he was booked later in the game, as he’ll now miss the final League Phase match through suspension.

It may not matter, as Sporting added a third and left Arsenal’s progression hopes hanging by a thread.

Photo via Arsenal.com

At the time of writing, Arsenal are technically not out. But they sit three points behind the progression places (22nd and above), with six teams between them and 22nd place.

Many of those six teams above Arsenal haven’t even played their fifth game yet, so they may be beyond the Gunners’ reach before the final matchday rolls around.

Though one small positive is that Arsenal’s last game is against one of them – AS Monaco. If Monaco fail to win their fifth fixture, at least they will be catchable. As for the rest, it’s out of Arsenal’s hands now.

Arsenal u19 lineup vs Sporting

Nygaard, Nichols, Clarke, Heaven, Quesada-Thorn, Dudziak, Dowman, I. Oulad M’Hand, Kabia, Kamara, Annous

Substitutes

Forde (for Kamara, 70), Ferdinand (for Annous, 82), Sweet (for Clarke, 90), Ibrahim (for Kabia, 90), Ranson, Salmon, Copley, Casey

What’s next?

The Arsenal u19s will play their final UEFA Youth League game against Monaco on December 11th at 13:00 GMT. In the meantime, many of the same players will represent the u18s back in the u18 Premier League, with a home game against Fulham on Saturday.