Arsenal lost 3-2 at home to Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup Quarter-Final on Friday night.
The Gunners produced a spirited performance against the Red Devils’ youngsters but were beaten in extra-time courtesy of a Bendito Manato goal.
Max Dowman’s penalty and Louis Copley’s lovely chip cancelled out goals from Jack Fletcher and Jayden Kamason for the travelling side in normal time.
Despite the defeat, there were several encouraging performances from some of Arsenal’s academy prospects.
Arsenal fans were stunned by Dowan’s display, but the talented midfielder wasn’t the only starlet to leave the on-watching Gunners crowd in awe.
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Marli Salmon impresses for Arsenal in FA Youth Cup
Marli Salmon became the third 15-year-old to play for Arsenal’s under-21s just over a week ago.
Fans were then raving about Salmon’s outing in the reserves’ 4-1 win over Newcastle last time out, and on the basis of Friday night’s showing against United, it’s not hard to see why.
Deployed at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, Salmon was commanding and aggressive, whilst demonstrating exceptional composure on the ball.
With William Saliba linked with a move to Real Madrid, a long-term replacement may have been unearthed.
Gunners supporters were quick to take to X to express their amazement at what they were witnessing with the young centre-back.
One fan wrote: “Max Dowman stole the show tonight… But Marli Salmon & Ife Ibrahim were unbelievable. Salmon is one of the most talented CBs we’ve seen at Hale End. Plays levels above his age.”
Another added: “Marli Salmon is the truth. Hopefully he continues to develop & grow because he’s got all the qualities of a CB profile we could promote to the first team.”
One supporter posited: “Marli Salmon is so composed at the back… not gonna get too excited yet but wow. Took that down nicely and dribbled out all in one.”
Another wrote, simply: “One thing’s for sure, Max Dowman & Marli Salmon are next up.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal youth journalist Jeorge Bird produced a glowing review of the 15-year-old’s performance: “Marli Salmon reads the game very well. He certainly doesn’t look like an U16 player in terms of overall ability.”
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Adam Birchall proud of Arsenal’s FA Youth Cup performance
While the night ultimately ended in disappointment for Arsenal’s youngsters, there was plenty to be encouraged by.
The Hale End graduates produced resolute displays, showing glimpses of quality, and a few standout performers caught the eyes of the fans.
Speaking on the defeat to Arsenal.com, youth coach Adam Birchall expressed how proud he was of his players, many of whom were making their Emirates Stadium debuts.
“Super proud, I said to the boys after the game that football can be cruel,” he said.
“They’ve given absolutely everything.
“For such a young team, the way they dug in and the rollercoaster of the game, to still be pushing at the end to try and get something out of it really showed the personality they have, which is definitely a bedrock to go and have a career.
“It’s going to hurt, they’ll need the weekend maybe to get over it but then they’ve got to use that hurt on Monday and we’ll go again.”
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