Adam Birchall has reacted to our under-18s 6-4 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
“We’re not happy to lose the game,” he said. “We started really well on the front foot and just lacked consistency in our defending actions.
“Collectively we need to show a much better mentality towards our defending.
“At times it was like basketball. We need to manage moments where there’s a bit of chaos, manage to regain.
“We conceded two set-pieces so for me that’s a mentality thing, against your man attacking a ball, so there’s lots to digest from this. Scoring goals means nothing if you concede more at the other end.”
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Report: Tottenham Hotspur 6-4 Arsenal U18s](https://www.arsenal.com/fixture/under-18/2025-Mar-08/tottenham-hotspur-u18-6-4-under-18-match-report?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
Next up, we travel to Chelsea for an 11am kick-off on Tuesday.
“It starts with the mentality,” Adam said. “I’ve been really clear over the last few months with the mentality of the players developing. Today was a step backwards from that.
“I don’t think it was all the players, but some need to show more hunger and fight, so I hope that’s what we see in the game against Chelsea.
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