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Horseman disappointed with Slavia Prague defeat

David Horseman said we must improve our levels after falling to a 5-1 defeat against Slavia Prague in the UEFA Youth League.

Two goals from set pieces and breakaway strike meant we were trailing 3-0 at half-time before Ceadach O'Neill pulled one back in the second half. But two late strikes means we are now without a point in our opening four Youth League contests.

Following the match, Horseman said we were not near our usual levels in the defeat in the Czech capital.

He said: "A really disappointing day for me and for the staff, because I think we put a lot of effort into this game and then more for the players because I don't think they showcased what Arsenal's all about, particularly in the academy.

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U19 report: Slavia Prague 5-1 Arsenal](https://www.arsenal.com/fixture/under-19/2025-Nov-04/slavia-prague-u19-under-19-match-report?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)

"There's lots we can all learn from it and we all get judged on and today is one where, rightly so, we should all be judged in a negative way because it just wasn't good enough."

Following the defeat, Horseman, under-18s coach Adam Birchall and under-21s coach Max Porter all addressed the players on the pitch as we aim to bounce back in our next Youth League match against Bayern Munich later this month.

He said: "We told the players some home truths because we only ever tell them the home truths to help them.

"This is nowhere near the level. We'll look at ourselves because we're in it together and see what we can tweak. We've got two brilliant games, two tough games Bayern and Brugge and we'll try and put a few things right just so that this group can learn for future competitions."

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