Our under-18s drew 4-4 with Tottenham in a thrilling North London Derby on Tuesday afternoon.
First-half goals from Max Dowman, Sam Onyekachukwu, Ife Ibrahim and Louis Zecevic-John put us 4-3 up at half-time, but a late equaliser for the visitors denied us the win.
Highlights are available at the top of this page.
Our under-18s played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Tottenham in the North London Derby on Saturday afternoon.
The game was pulsating right from the start, with both sides on the scoresheet inside the opening ten minutes, Max Dowman cancelling out Ellis Lehane.
Sam Onyekachukwu and Ife Ibrahim fired us into a 3-1 lead before George Feeney and Jun’ai Byfield hit back for Spurs, but we took the lead into half-time thanks to Louis Zecevic-John.
A tense second half went right down the wire, but Jamel Beggs’ deflected equaliser rescued a point for Spurs with the last kick of the game.
What Happened
It was a frantic start to the derby, as we were almost gifted a first-minute lead by a poor back pass. But from the clearance, Spurs broke the other way and took the lead through Lehane.
We wasted no time in responding however, as Max Dowman fired us level six minutes later, firing his effort in off the post from the edge of the box.
With the momentum behind us, it didn’t take long to complete the turnaround. Sam Onyekachukwu turned and picked out the bottom corner to make it 2-1 after just 16 minutes.
We almost doubled our lead midway through the half when Will Sweet’s audacious chip caused a scramble and had to be cleared off the line.
Moments later though we had our third as Ife Ibrahim evaded his marker and curled a wonderful effort into the far corner.
Spurs struck back towards the end of the half, with goals from George Feeney and Jun’ai Byfield levelling the game just before half-time.
We struck the final blow of the half however, Louis Zecevic-John finding the bottom corner after an excellent solo run.
The game continued to be end-to-end after the break, with Luca Williams-Barnett striking the crossbar for Spurs and Dan Casey doing the same for us.
Our North London rivals kept the pressure on throughout the second half, striking the woodwork on two further occasions.
Six minutes from time Jack Porter made an outstanding save to push a driven shot onto the crossbar and keep our lead intact.
But after more than 100 minutes of football, Jamel Beggs’ shot took a deflection and found the back of the net, ensuring the points were shared.
What It Means
A point in the North London Derby extends our unbeaten run to eight matches, leaving us three points behind U18 Premier League South leaders Aston Villa with two games to go.
But with one of those two matches against the Villains, we’re still very much in the title race.
What’s Next
Our under-18s make the short trip across London to face Fulham at Motspur Park on Saturday, May 3. Kick-off is scheduled for 11am (UK time).
Line-Ups
Arsenal XI: Porter, Clarke, Ogunnaike, Onyekachukwu, Sweet, Ibrahim, Harriman-Annous (Ismail, 90+7’), Copley, Zecevic-John (O’Neill, 87’), Dowman, Casey (Julienne, 68’)
Subs (not used): Ranson, Ismail, Marciniak
Tottenham XI: Archer, Bangura, Byrne, Byfield, Upson, Feeney (Beggs, 51’), Adewole, Moncur (Elliot-Parris, 45’), Lehane (Hardy, 45’), Williams-Barnett, Thompson
Our under-18s host Tottenham Hotspur in a north London Derby on Tuesday, April 29. Kick-off at the Sobha Realty Training Centre is scheduled for 11am (UK time).
With three games to go, our under-18s are firmly in the U18 Premier League South title race, sitting just one point behind leaders Chelsea.
Last time out, our young Gunners extended their winning run to seven straight matches, with Max Dowman scoring all four goals in a 4-0 win over Reading.
The Opposition
Tottenham bring a good run of form into Tuesday’s derby, winning four of their last five matches, including a 6-4 win over us in the reverse fixture. Our rivals thrashed Leicester City 7-0 on Saturday, their tenth win in 20 league games this season.
Spurs sit five points behind us with a game in hand, so could still have a part to play in the U18 Premier League South title race if they win at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
The dangerman this season for the Lilywhites has been Luca Williams-Barnett; the forward has 20 goals in 19 appearances for Tottenham’s under-18s, including two against us in March.
How to Follow
Stay up to date with live commentary on our academy’s X page. A full match report will be available on Arsenal.com shortly after the final whistle.
Post-match, don’t miss exclusive interviews with Adam Birchall and one of our young Gunners, alongside highlights of all the key action.
Our men’s first team will play our north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong on Thursday, July 31 as part of our preparations for the 2025/26 season.
The match, which kicks off at 7.30pm local time (11.30am UK), will be played in the recently opened 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong and will see our men’s first-team squad returning to the region for the first time since 2012.
Managing Director, Richard Garlick said: “Everyone at Arsenal is excited to be visiting Hong Kong in July. It’s great to be back with our men’s first team squad after 13 years, and gives us the opportunity to meet so many of our fantastic supporters in the region again.
“As well as training hard and playing the match, we cannot wait to connect with our Hong Kong supporters in this wonderful part of the world.
“Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.”
Ticket details and information about further matches in our 2025 pre-season will be announced in the coming days.
It was a goal-filled encounter at Tottenham Hotspur Academy on Saturday, as we came out on the wrong side of a 6-4 scoreline in the U18 Premier League South.
We made the perfect start when Andre Harriman-Annous gave us the lead inside three minutes, but Ellis Lehane quickly equalised for the hosts.
Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett then put Spurs ahead, before Dan Casey netted twice to swing the game back in our favour. However, Jun’ai Byfield struck just before the break to make it 3-3 at half-time.
Spurs regained the lead in the 59th minute through Tynan Thompson, and Malachi Hardy made it five with 15 minutes to go.
Casey completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot to bring us back within one, but Williams-Barnett wrapped up the win deep into stoppage time after we had been reduced to 10 men following Samuel Onyekachukwu’s red card.
Watch the highlights by pressing the play button above.
The goals wouldn’t stop going in at Tottenham Hotspur Academy on Saturday as we were beaten 6-4 in the U18 Premier League South.
Andre Harriman-Annous gave us a third-minute lead before Ellis Lehane pulled one back for the hosts.
Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett made it 2-1 to Spurs before Dan Casey netted twice with half-time approaching. Jun’ai Byfield equalised on the brink of the break though to make it 3-3.
Spurs went ahead in the 59th minute courtesy of Tynan Thompson and Malachi Hardy made it five with 15 minutes remaining.
Casey completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot with nine minutes to go to offer some hope, but Williams-Barnett completed his brace deep in stoppage time for 6-4, after we’d been reduced to 10 men following a sending off for Samuel Onyekachukwu.
WHAT HAPPENED
Marcell Washington played the ball into the centre of the box and Harriman-Annous slotted it into the bottom right corner early on before Spurs pulled one back.
Jack Porter gave the ball way to Lehane, who smashed it into the bottom left.
Onyekachukwu had the ball in the back of the net with a header following a lovely Ceadach O'Neill free-kick, but the flag was raised for offside.
Spurs then took the lead as Williams-Barnett hit a strike from 30 yards out into the top right corner.
We responded through Casey, who got his first of the afternoon when he found himself in acres of space and rifled the ball into the bottom right corner for 2-2.
In the 43rd minute, Louis Zecevic-John put it on a plate for Cosey, who poked the ball into the bottom left corner to restore our lead, but it was short lived.
A corner whipped in by Williams-Barnett ricocheted into Byfield’s path and he volleyed home to wrap up an end-to-end first half.
The hosts went ahead again in the 59th minute as Thompson went on a mazy solo run and scored across goal, and four became five as a corner was flicked on by Hardy into the bottom left.
Max Dowman was brought down in the penalty area with nine minutes to go and Casey stepped up to dispatch from the spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and reducing the arrears.
Our task was made more difficult though one minute into added time as Onyekachukwu was sent off for bringing down Reiss Elliot-Parris, who was through on goal.
Williams-Barnett rubbed the salt in the wounds late on as he smashed the resulting free-kick into the top right corner.
WHAT IT MEANS
We’re now ninth in the league with 19 points from 14 games.
WHAT’S NEXT
We head to Chelsea on Tuesday for an 11am kick-off at Cobham Training Ground.
LINE-UPS
Tottenham Hotspur XI: Archer, Hardy, Upson (Furnell-Gill 80), Byfield, Byrne, Bangura (Batty 52), Hall (Moncur 52), Adewole, Williams-Barnett, Thompson, Lehane (Elliott-Parris 49).
Substitutes (not used): Thompson.
Arsenal XI: Porter, Ibrahim, Onyekachukwu, Clarke, Washington (Ismail 65), Casey, Copley, O’Neill (Chapman 67), Dowman, Harriman-Annous, Zecevic-John (Oyetunde 74).
Substitutes (not used): Ranson, Marciniak.
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We’ve put together the best Access All Areas and Bench Cam footage of Sunday’s 5-0 win in the WSL north London derby.
Watch the team arrive, see the excitement build at Emirates Stadium and enjoy all the goals again from a pitch side angle!
Press play on the video above to enjoy derby day all over again.
We produced a dominant display to win the north London derby 5-0 in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday, and you can watch the best of the action in our highlights package.
In front of over 56,000 supporters at Emirates Stadium, Alessia Russo forced a Clare Hunt own goal to give us an early lead and Mariona Caldentey made it 2-0 before half-time.
Frida Maanum ensured the second half got off to a goalscoring start with our third before Russo got herself on the scoresheet. After Chloe Kelly came on for her debut, Emily Fox provided another memorable moment with a stunning fifth goal from long range.
Press play on the video above to enjoy the best moments of the match all over again.
Renee Slegers was in high spirits as she sat down for her post-Tottenham Hotspur press conference after seeing her side beat our north London rivals 5-0 at Emirates Stadium.
Here’s what she had to say on the following subjects.
on Kyra Cooney-Cross winning the ball high up the pitch:
It’s not specifically with Kyra individually, but it’s as a team. We want to press and all players play different roles on the pitch and often she plays in that role where she is maybe the player that wins the ball for us.
on focusing on Spurs switching players on the wings:
No, we’re very specific at what we do, so we go through all possible scenarios when we get the line-up. The analysts watch the warm-ups, so we have all the tools to see what we think the opposition is going to do and how we want to deal with that. We have a plan for everything basically and what they tried to do is get into those pockets and make it hard for us to defend that left foot on the right side and I think we managed it really well.
on Lotte Wubben-Moy’s omission from the squad:
She had a muscle problem during the week and she’s going to get a scan.
on Chloe Kelly enjoying herself on her debut:
There were a couple of tactical messages and just checking in, ‘are you okay with the role to play’ and set-pieces of course, but my final message was enjoy getting your comeback in an Arsenal shirt. It’s a very special occasion, so enjoy your football. I think she’s been smiling a lot in training and working really hard so I think she’s very passionate as a person. It’s important that you have players that are in a good place, feel good, are motivated because then you’ll get the best out of yourself and hopefully that’s what we can keep building on with Chloe.
on her reception from the fans:
Definitely, I was very impressed, but in general the crowds have been so inspiring for us.
on Mariona’s ability being like ‘an octopus’:
I think it's a real good analogy. The octopus was quite unexpected! No, she is amazing. Everything that football is to me, I think she understands. The best thing about her is that she always works really hard and she sets up really good situations for herself, but everything she does makes it easier for the other players to play as well. She creates a little bit more time and space for everyone. She reads things, she sees things. She is on such a high level, so we're so happy to have her. And don't want to take away from all the rest, because there are so many individuals in our team who play on a very high level similar to her, but I agree with you, she's an outstanding player.
on Spurs and Robert Vilahamn’s project:
I know Robert, we did our training badges in Sweden, so I have huge respect for him and who he is and what he wants to build. And I think, of course, with Tottenham, he's on the journey and I fully support what he's doing. It's always good to hear that from the opposition to understand what it's like to play against us. But I want to give him credit for the way he wants to work and how he's building and how he believes in what he wants to do. And yeah, I wish him all the best.
on whether this was us at our best:
At times, definitely. I think, the whole event, I think with playing at the Emirates. Beautiful pitch, big crowds, and the way the women's game is growing, and how Arsenal is leading in this. I'm just very proud. And then, of course, it's about the football that we play. And I think at times we play brilliant football today on the ball, but also how quickly we counter-press and win the ball back, and we score different types of goals. But then there are still periods in the game where we could have done better. So I think we're on such a high level at times today, and then the next level is to be that consistently over 95 minutes.
on playing for the team, not individuals:
Yeah, and that's the kind of thing we want to build. So, we want to be unpredictable and hard to defend and hard to beat. And I think that's what you create if you have different threats. So, if you only have one type of threat, it's going to be easier for opposition to nullify. But now, when we come with different things, I think it's going to be very hard for opposition. So, that's really what we work towards. And, of course, I'm in the lucky position that we have so many good quality players in this squad.
on the clean sheet:
Aaron D’Antino, he has a big part in that because he's working with the girls on the defensive part of the game. I think the buy-in is big. I think the plans that we have, the game plans that we have, are good and strong. And it's always, we put high value on keeping clean sheets. And we also work with the mindset and how we emphasise things ahead of games and in trainings, how important it is for us to not concede. And I think it's about the details. I think Steph Catley is a great example. She's doing so many things so well today in the game, which you might not even notice. But that helps us so much, getting into the right positions, making the right decisions, and not even getting the opposition coming close to our goal.
on our mindset:
It's about, I think, what we as coaches think is important and how the girls also think it's important now that we want to go for clean sheets every game, that defensive solidity is such a big part of our game. And it's about the trust in the team, that the forwards can trust that the players at the back and the goalkeepers keep it clean. And then the goalkeepers and the players at the back, they can trust that the front players will score a goal, and that trust is in the team at the moment. Not saying that we split the units because we do everything together. So we defend together and we attack together. And that's also a big part of our strength, but I think there's just big trust within the team, within the roles and the collective, that we can score goals and that we can keep clean sheets.