Adam Birchall was thrilled with how his under-18s responded to Saturday’s 6-4 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur with a 3-2 win at Chelsea on Tuesday.
Louis Zecevic-John and Josh Ogunnaike were both on the scoresheet and Khari Ranson saved a penalty before we forced a Olutayo Subuloye own goal.
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U18s report: Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal](https://www.arsenal.com/fixture/under-18/2025-Mar-11/chelsea-u18-2-3-under-18-match-report?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
“I’m really pleased,” he said. “I thought we dominated the ball with large spells. We defended with 11 and I think based on my comments from the last game, what we showed is absolutely what we've been developing and that's the personality to play in a game like this.
“Obviously to get three goals as well is good, so it means the work we're doing on the training pitch is good. But we need to also think about the goals conceded and can we manage that as well moving forward.
“That wasn't like us last week. I think we had a meeting yesterday where Per was involved in it and Per gave us some real inspirational words and some real good feedback and he was in our thoughts a lot today heading into this game. So, super pleased with the personality the lads showed and absolutely we spoke about that.
“We spoke about how that wasn't us last week and how that doesn't define us last week, but how we bounce back this week or this game will really define us. So, we wanted to do that today.
“Khari coming to the team today, he's not played for the last two games. Super pleased with his performance, but as well him and Jack [Porter] are really pushing every day in training and they help each other get better.
“But today, really pleased with Khari’s saves and contributions. Obviously, Max Dowman was captain today as well, led by example. And Louis John up front really led the line for us.
“Now we just build on the technical efficiency, the timing. I thought Dan Casey's done really well today in terms of his timing to play in behind the midfield. So, technique, timing and again, on the training pitch, bringing that mentality and that personality and really showcasing that.
“And I thought Josh Ogunnaike, in particular, epitomised that today. He got a goal and you see when he plays, you can see his personality at left-back. So, I'm really pleased for him.”
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