Our under-21s face Cardiff City in the final game of their Vertu Trophy group stage on Tuesday, November 11. Kick-off at the Cardiff City Stadium is scheduled for 7.45pm.
The Vertu Trophy campaign has provided two entertaining games so far, as we scored an 89th-minute winner to beat Newport County 2-1 before losing a seven-goal thriller 4-3 to Exeter City in our second match.
Remarkably, every team in our group has won one and lost one of their opening two games, and have the same goal difference, meaning it is incredibly tight to make it through to the last 32.
We currently top the group on goals scored, and will progress to the knockout stages with a victory, either in the 90 minutes or on penalties if we were to finish level in Wales. Equally, a win will be enough for Cardiff to make it through at our expense.
Pos
Team
Pld
W
PW
PL
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Arsenal U21
2
1
0
0
1
5
5
0
**3**
2
Exeter City
2
1
0
0
1
4
4
0
**3**
3
Newport County
2
1
0
0
1
2
2
0
**3**
4
Cardiff City
2
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
**3**
In our last Premier League 2 game, we battled to a hard-earned point away to Southampton, drawing 1-1 thanks to a fine finish from Charles Sagoe Jr.
The Opposition
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After relegation from the Championship last season, Cardiff City have been going strong this season as they look to earn promotion from League One at the first attempt. The Bluebirds are fourth in the third tier, but could go top if they win their game in hand on the three sides above them.
Despite a strong season overall, the League One side have lost four of their last six in all competitions, including a 1-0 defeat to Newport County in their last Vertu Trophy game.
Yousef Salech has been the main danger man for Brian Barry-Murphy’s side, scoring seven goals in all competitions this season.
How to follow
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All matches in the Vertu Trophy are available to watch on Sky Sports for viewers in the UK, with the action getting underway from 7.45pm.
Live updates will be available throughout the match on our [academy's official X account](https://x.com/ArsenalAcademy), with a match report and post-match interviews also available after the game on [Arsenal.com](https://www.arsenal.com/news?field_article_arsenal_team_value=academy).
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