**FA Youth Cup fourth round**
**Manchester City 5 (Braithwaite 27, T. Samba 37, 43, Dunbar-McDonald 41, Parker 90) Arsenal 2 (O’Neill 45 (pen.), Bailey-Joseph 86)**
Arsenal’s hopes of winning the FA Youth Cup are over for another year following a disappointing 5-2 defeat away to Manchester City tonight.
The young Gunners found themselves 4-0 down by the 41st minute and ended up being heavily beaten despite Ceadach O’Neill scoring a penalty and Brando Bailey-Joseph also finding the net. Schoolboy Xavier Parker scored late on for City to inflict further misery on Arsenal.
Ife Ibrahim returned from injury to start at the base of the midfield, while Abraham Owusu-Gyasi made his Youth Cup debut as he started at right-back.
Andre Harriman-Annous, who had been out injured since November, was named amongst the substitutes.
Arsenal missed Max Dowman through injury and Josiah King through suspension, while Marli Salmon was also unavailable.
**Porter**
**Owusu Gyasi-Hamill-Onyekachukwu-Ogunnaike**
**Ibrahim**
**Murisa-Julienne**
**Thompson-O’Neill-Bailey Joseph**
**Subs: Zecevic John (for Murisa, 46), Harriman-Annous (for Thompson, 58), Pedro (for Owusu-Gyasi, 64). Not used: Talbot, Chapman, Hashi, Marciniak.**
City took the lead in the 27th minute as their captain Kaiden Braithwaite scored a superb free-kick.
Ten minutes later it was 2-0 as Tyrone Samba found the net, with Christian Dunbar-McDonald then scoring to inflict further damage.
Samba added his second goal but Arsenal did manage to score just before half time as Ceadach O’Neill netted a penalty.
Louis Zecevic John replaced Teshaun Murisa at the start of the second half in an attacking change, with Harriman-Annous later entering the fray in place of Kyran Thompson.
Schoolboy Angelinou Pedro then made his competition debut by coming on for Owusu-Gyasi.
Bailey-Joseph got a goal back for Arsenal but City’s three-goal lead was quickly restored by Parker.
Arsenal’s wait to win the Youth Cup goes on and it has now been so long since they have done so that next year’s first year scholars were not born when Steve Bould’s side triumphed at Anfield in 2009.
There have also been concerns that Arsenal have failed to match up to the other major academies in this competition in recent years, with their last three exits coming against Liverpool, Manchester United and now City.
The likes of Salmon and Dowman will still be eligible to feature in the Youth Cup next season, as well as some of those who played tonight such as Owusu-Gyasi, Callan Hamill, Murisa, Thompson, Bailey-Joseph and Pedro.
This is another disappointing defeat, though, and Arsenal’s recent record in this competition is something which the next academy manager, whoever that may be, will look to address.