Arsenal Under-21s head coach was delight after his side secured their first win of 2026, edging past Burnley in a hard-fought contest.
A moment of brilliance from Brando Bailey-Joseph proved decisive, with his superb solo effort enough to break down a stubborn Clarets side and seal all three points.
Reflecting on the result, Porter was pleased not only with the win but with the response from a young group.
“I’m happy with the result. We had a very young side out there. I think we had eight scholars playing, so that was a big positive for us.
"It’s also important to reflect, because last week we were very poor and didn’t show our best selves. It was a freak result, but that is football.”
The focus throughout the week, Porter explained, had been about reacting in the right way.
“The whole week was about responding. Not necessarily the result, but putting in a much better performance across the whole game.
"We did that this week, and when you perform better, you give yourself a better chance of winning, which we did tonight.”
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U21s report: Arsenal 1-0 Burnley](https://www.arsenal.com/fixture/under-21/2026-Jan-23/under-21-1-0-burnley-u21-match-report?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
A key part of that improved performance was keeping a clean sheet, something Porter highlighted as a growing mindset within the group.
“We spoke this week about having a clean-sheet mentality and being more like our first team.
"We need to be harder and more horrible to play against. Teams need to suffer against us, and I thought today we limited Burnley very well.”
Bailey-Joseph’s match-winning goal marked his first for the Under-21s, and Porter, who has known the winger since his Under-9s days, was delighted to see him make the difference.
“I’ve been very fortunate to know Brando for a long time. In my first role here at Under-9s, he was in that group, and I’ve seen so many goals like that from him.
"Now it’s about how he builds on it. He’s got huge potential, and we want him to really believe in himself more. Hopefully this gives him that belief, because if he can continue to do that, we’re going to see an extremely talented and improving player who can hopefully nail down that position.”
Looking ahead, Porter also addressed whether academy players could be involved with the first team for Wednesday's fixture against Kairat.
“The first team are fully focused on a massive game against Manchester United on Sunday. Once that’s done, hopefully there could be opportunities next week.
"But those opportunities have to be earned, they’re earned on days like today, by performing well and training well every single day.”
He added that close collaboration with the first-team staff remains key to player development.
“We work closely with the first team to support them and develop our players. This season we’ve had Max, Marli and Andre involved, and if we can have more, that would be amazing, but they have to earn it.”
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