Arsenal U21s were knocked out of the EFL Trophy in the group stages for another year as they were beaten 3-1 by Cardiff City last night.
It was a frustrating game for Arsenal, whose cause wasn’t helped by the dismissal of goalkeeper Alexei Rojas for a foul in the second half.
Abraham Owusu-Gyasi didn’t enter the pitch in Wales but it was still a significant occasion for the young defender as he was named in the U21 squad for the first time.
A player who is strong physically and also impressive technically, Owusu-Gyasi is capable of playing at right-back or centre-back.
Last week the 16-year-old received his first callup at U19 level as he was an unused substitute against Slavia Prague in the UEFA Youth League.
Having already featured five times for the U18s this season, Owusu-Gyasi will be looking to establish himself as a regular at that level in the near future.
In addition, he will hope that he can make his debut for the U21s before the end of the campaign.
Producing high quality young defenders has often been a challenge for Arsenal at youth level but Owusu-Gyasi will be eager to make as much progress as possible.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird