Max Porter saw his side score twice in his first game as permanent under-21s manager, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat to Fulham at the Mangata Pay UK Stadium on Friday, August 15.
It was announced the morning of the Premier League 2 opener that Max would continue his ongoing hard work and dedication with our young Gunners, and the new appointee heaped praise on the youth setup that supports his role.
"In terms of what we're doing, we've got an unbelievable under-21s multi-disciplinary team. We've been working with them for the last couple of years, and they support the players outstandingly.
"I'm looking forward to carrying on those relationships. I think for me, I've been here eight years, and I've worked with the under-9s part-time, all the way up to this role now. I think we're an academy that develops young people and players to hopefully play for our first team and come through.
"But also, we develop staff. So I'm glad that it's part of my journey as well, to be able to come through and have the opportunity I've had at Arsenal. I feel privileged, and I'll do the best job possible for the players because that's what they deserve."
Max saw his side battle back from a two-goal deficit to head into half-time level, thanks to goals from Louis Copley and Ismael Kabia, but a late Fulham winner ultimately sealed the tie for the Cottagers.
Despite the scoreline, Max took positives from his team's resilient performance. "We gave away two goals on us having the ball in transition," he said. "After that, though, I was very proud of the team. I think at 2-0 down, it's easy to go under. I was really happy with the response.
"I think we showed bravery to keep playing our way, to keep showing for the ball. We just made a few tweaks that actually helped us a little bit more. Then we managed to get back into the game with two really good goals, and at half-time, I felt we had the momentum, which was great."
Max believes lessons are there to be learned from matchday one of the new PL2 season, with a keen eye on next week's away trip to play Nottingham Forest. "What we're looking for is the positive signs from tonight," he said. "Keep working and developing the individuals we've got, so that hopefully we can put on an even better performance more consistently throughout the game.
"It'll be a very tough game. Forest's head coach has a lot of experience, and his teams are really competitive. So I'm excited about that because that'll be a real good challenge for us."
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