Red card, penalty, & late winner: Arsenal edge dramatic Villa u18 clash

Bodymoor Heath, Saturday — Arsenal’s Under-18s left it late to snatch a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa in a contest that had everything: an early penalty, a straight red card and a 93rd-minute winner that kept the visitors’ faint hopes of a respectable league finish alive.

Smarting from a mid-week derby defeat to Tottenham, the young Gunners struck first in the 18th minute when Louis Zecevic-John earned and then coolly dispatched a spot-kick to put the visitors ahead. The winger was central to another flashpoint seven minutes after the restart, when Villa defender Vincely Mudame was shown a red card for hauling down Zecevic-John as the last man. Teshaun Murisa almost doubled the advantage from the resulting free-kick, but Villa weathered the pressure.

Down to ten, the hosts nonetheless found an equaliser on 75 minutes, breaking swiftly to level at 1-1 and threaten an upset. Kyran Thompson twice came within inches of restoring Arsenal’s lead, first with a deflected drive and then, in the third minute of added time, when his inswinging corner struck the woodwork. The rebound fell kindly for substitute Angelinou Pedro, who slammed home the winner.

The result gives Arsenal two wins from their last three league outings, a welcome turnaround after a seven-match winless run that had left the side mired in mid-table. With fixtures running out, the Gunners will need a swift accumulation of points to climb the standings.

Next up is a home meeting with Norwich City, currently second-bottom of the U18 Premier League South and only four points clear of last-placed Ipswich Town, who hold four games in hand. That fixture kicks off at 12:00 GMT on Saturday, 28 February.

Arsenal starting XI: Talbot, Mbala, Chapman, Pedro, Owusu-Gyasi, Murisa, Sampang, Purdy, Zecevic-John, Thompson, Frohock. Substitutes used: Hashi (for Purdy, 59), Tahou (for Mbala, 65), Abubakar (for Frohock, 65).