On what was a battered playing surface in Lake Como, Arsenal's youngsters put up a brave fight, that was desperately ended late on in extra time.
Arsenal's Next Gen experience doesn't end there as the subsequent result, puts the Gunners in a third place play-off on Sunday.
Excuses, Excuses...
It will be hugely disappointing for the youngsters of Arsenal, but they should take lots positives from the loss.
Firstly, they played fantastic football, on an awful pitch. They managed to adapt to the poor conditions around them to produce direct and concise football that lead to all 3 goals. This is a massive learning curve for them as going from the carpet like pitch of the Emirates, to the patchy, lumpy surface they played on today, is difficult.
Secondly, they were beaten with their pride still firmly intact. Taking into account that only four days ago they played in an intense quarter final against CSKA, Arsenal really did beyond the call of duty. Chelsea crucially, had nine days more rest than the Gunners and with the game going into extra time, Arsenal were bound to run out of steam.
Star Performers
Throughout the team there were loads of great performances but two stood out for me
German forward Serge Gnabry really impressed today. He drove the team forward offensively with his burst of pace and an eye for a pass. His performance was rewarded, when he found a yard of space to lash a left footed shot, into the corner of the net.
Today's performance justifies why Arsene Wenger said this about him earlier this season:
“He has big potential, creative potential, finishing potential."
Another stand out performer today was right-back Hector Bellerin. The Spaniard was sound defensively but it was going forward were he really influenced proceedings. Firstly, picking out Akpom for the opening goal of the game and then providing another assist when slipping a pass through Gnabry who finished in style. Bellerin really didn't stop running for the entire game and always gave Arsenal an outlet down the right flank.
A disappointing result will have long term benefits for this budding Arsenal side.
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