FA Youth Cup | Relive our run to the semi-finals | News

Our under-18 side have been on quite the adventure to reach the last four of the FA Youth Cup, where they will face Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, April 4.

If their previous matches in this year's competition are anything to go by, the goals are set to flow in north London - that's because in our four ties so far, 22 goals have been scored as Jack Wilshere's team negotiated some tricky ties to set up a last-four clash against City - tickets available now.

Here, we look back on how things have gone so far:

Third round
Arsenal 6-0 Milwall
December 19, 2022

The cup run began at a wet and windy Meadow Park, but it was Millwall who were swept away thanks to a clinical performance from our Young Gunners.

Jimi Gower started the scoring in the 13th minute, before Ethan Nwaneri blasted home and Michal Rosiak added a third to give us a healthy advantage at the break.

Three further goals came after the restart, with Amario Cozier-Duberry wrapping up the tie eight minutes into the second half, before two late strikes from Omari Benjamin put further gloss on the scoreline.

Wilshere: "You saw the intention from the start, we wanted to play forward and get our players in the pockets and hurt them, and we did that.

"I think we can get better, which is quite scary really. This tournament is good for development because it's knockout football and you have to win."Team: Cooper, Roziak (Ferdinand 58), Robinson (Brown 77), Walters, Quesada-Thorn, Ibrahim (Oulad M’Hand 77) Lewis-Skelly, Gower, Cozier-Duberry, Nwaneri, Benjamin.

Fourth round
Newcastle United 2-3 Arsenal
January 17, 2023

A tricky trip to the north-east came next, and Wilshere's side rose to the challenge to snatch a dramatic victory in snowy conditions at St James' Park.

We got a deserved opener after just 14 minutes when Seb Ferdinand poked home from close range, but despite Lewis Miley swiftly restoring parity we went into the break in front thanks to a deflected Cozier-Duberry strike.

Back came the Magpies again and Ben Parkinson levelled again, and just as the game looked to be going to extra-time, Osman Kamara whipped home the winner with three minutes remaining to spark jubilant scenes from the visiting players.

Wilshere: “I said to the players that they should enjoy these moments because coming to a stadium like St James’ Park is a great stage for them.

“However, we need the same desire that we had tonight into every game going forward. They’re going to have to want to win more than the opposition.” Team: Cooper, Rosiak, Walters, Quamina, Sousa, Lewis-Skelly, Ibrahim, Gower (Robinson 89), Cozier-Duberry, Ferdinand, Benjamin (Kamara 83).

Fifth round
February 6, 2023
Watford 2-4 Arsenal

A superb fightback from our Young Gunners saw them overturn a two-goal deficit thanks to an excellent second half performance.

The Hornets looked to be heading into the quarter-finals when Michael Adu-Poku and Tobi Adeyemo handed them a dream start after just 13 minutes, but after the break it was a different story.

Cozier-Duberry's penalty began the fightback, before two goals in two minutes from Kamara and Rosiak turned the tie on its head. Cozier-Duberry then converted another from the spot to complete the scoring, and claim a resilient victory.

Wilshere: “To come back in the second half and score four goals shows real character and desire.

“When you’re two goals down, you need to play with a fire in you and have the desire to win. The boys have a never say die attitude and coupled with the quality they have it’s hard for teams to play against us.”

Team: Cooper, Rosiak, Walters, Quamina, Sousa, Lewis-Skelly, Ibrahim, Gower (Nwaneri 58), Cozier-Duberry (Kacurri 86), Ferdinand (Kamara 45), Benjamin.

Quarter-final
Arsenal 3-2 Cambridge United
February 23, 2023

Another last-gasp goal saw us once again come from behind to book our place in the final four of the competition.

Things seemed to be going well when Nwaneri drove home at Emirates Stadium, but goals either side of half-time from Josh Robinson and Kai Yearn stunned the crowd as the U's got themselves in front.

However, Cozier-Duberry continued his run of scoring in every round so far by equalising from the penalty spot, and then in stoppage-time, Rosiak popped up with a well-taken winner to secure a semi-final spot.

Wilshere: "We showed that spirit that I keep talking about, a fire that wins you games and we’ve seen that against Newcastle, Watford, and now tonight.

"We need to be better if we want to win the cup, but keep that fire and we will have a great chance. There’s a massive team spirit and unity to the group. It gets us through the tough moments.”

Team: Cooper, Rosiak, Robinson, Walters, Sousa, Lewis-Skelly, Ibrahim, Nwaneri (Kacurri 90), Ferdinand (Kamara 62), Cozier-Duberry, Benjamin (Gower 80).

Head to Emirates Stadium to see the next step of our cup journey against Manchester City in the semi-finals, with tickets available now priced at just £4 for adults and £2 concessions.

Next week sees us host Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup semi-final at Emirates Stadium, with Jack Wilshere aiming to inspire his side into the final from the touchline.

On Tuesday, April 4 his mind will fondly rewind back 14 years to when he was playing his part on that same pitch against the same opposition at the same stage of the competition, in the year we last got our hands on the famous trophy.

Get your tickets for our FA Youth Cup semi-final now

Back in the 2008/09 season, we reached the last four by knocking out Aston Villa, Wolves, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur, thanks to a squad that would go on to amass over 3,000 professional appearances including Kyle Bartley, Francis Coquelin, Luke Ayling and Henri Lansbury.

However it was Jack who was the most exciting member of that side, having already debuted for Arsene Wenger’s first-team in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers in September 2008 and continuing to feature fairly regularly up to the start of the cup run.

Jack Wilshere in action for the under-18s against Manchester City in 2009

And that experience gained at the highest level would stand him - as well as his teammates - in good stead by the time City pitched up in N5 in April 2009, skippered by Kieran Trippier and featuring future internationals Dedryck Boyata and John Guidetti in their ranks.

We had inflicted City’s first defeat all season by beating them 2-1 at the City of Manchester Stadium in the first leg the month before thanks to goals from captain Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Gilles Sunu, but boss Steve Bould didn’t look to send his side out under instruction to protect their advantage - they looked to wrap up a final spot in style.

Arsenal and Manchester City line up ahead of kick-off in 2009

Our stall was set out in just the first minute when Sanchez Watt raced onto a long ball by Emmanuel-Thomas and fired home, and the striker’s pace caused issues again on 20 minutes when he was brought down by visiting keeper Joe Clegg, allowing Wilshere to tuck home our second from the penalty spot.

Relishing playing in front of nearly 10,000 supporters, the hosts were thriving and added a third nine minutes later when Bartley rose highest to head home a corner, and that was swiftly followed up when Watt pounced on some hesitation in the City defence to add a fourth.

Kyle Bartley scores against Manchester City in the 2009 FA Youth Cup

The visitors pulled one back just before half-time through Ahmad Benali, but nothing could prevent Wilshere and co from setting up a final meeting with Liverpool where another emphatic 4-1 success would clinch the cup.

Now 14 years on, Wilshere the coach has helped set the stage for our latest crop of young hopefuls to follow in his footsteps, as they dream of clinching silverware themselves in our colours.

Our team against City: James Shea, Craig Eastmond, Thomas Cruise, Kyle Bartley, Luke Ayling, Francis Coquelin, Emmanuel Frimpong, Jack Wilshere, Gilles Sunu, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Sanchez Watt.

Head to Emirates Stadium to see the next step of our cup journey against Manchester City in the semi-finals, with tickets available now priced at just £4 for adults and £2 concessions.