City crushed by Arsenal academy

Match Report: Exeter City 0-5 Arsenal U21s

Humiliation again in the EFL Trophy as City conceded five at home to Arsenal’s academy side.

It was not long gone in the second half, and Exeter’s centre-back and captain, Will Aimson was way out of position, pressing James Milson in goal for Arsenal Under-21s. Such disregard for the position assigned to him was not born of any illusions of superiority over the opposition, but rather frustration, as he and his Exeter team-mates found themselves behind an academy side who, talented though they were, should not have posed anything of a threat. 

Despite having cited the EFL Trophy as a development competition, City boss Gary Caudwell was looking to right the wrongs of an embarrassing 9-0 record defeat to Reading in the previous outing in this competition, picking a side that could conceivably have started a league game, give, or take a couple of fresh-faced academy products. 

Exeter were immediately the better side and were comfortable on the ball in a manner that has been largely absent as a feature of their play since the very start of the season. Kyle Taylor crashed a shot into the side netting with such ferocity that many City fans were up on their feet, until the amused cheers of the Arsenal crowd, an impressive one for an Under- 21s away game, told them otherwise. 

The young Gunners were technically proficient and strung some neat passes together, the likes of Zane Monlouis and first-team fringe player Cedric Soares amongst others occasionally putting passing triangles together in the midfield. However, being an academy side with little professional experience, they couldn’t match Exeter’s physicality and calm exchanges of passing at the back, as the home side continued to dominate. There were half chances for Scott and Hartridge, albeit the kind of half chances that are inevitable when one side dominates possession and territory to the extent that Exeter had done, rather than any moment of individual skill. Scott had a back-post tap in chalked off for offside at the very end of the first 45’, as has been a theme in recent weeks.

The second half began much as it had left off, until the technical perfection of the talented Arsenal youngsters paid off, as it had been threatening to. A sweetly struck cross from the left by James Sweet was met by Charles Sagoe, who, in the fashion of a true striker, leant into the defender on his shoulder, let the ball run across his body before slipping it beyond Sean MacDonald and into the net. He ran, arms out, to the 100 or so Arsenal fans in the away end, who egged him on as he celebrated what will, upon this evening’s evidence, certainly not be his last goal for the Gunners. 

Exeter had opportunities to respond but it seemed nothing would click. Either the final pass was off, or the cross was too deep, and long swathes of the game spent in the Arsenal half could not be converted to chances, let alone goals. 

 City pressed forward in search of an equaliser, but they were thwarted time and again by football’s ultimate paradox as Arsenal hit them on the counterattack with superb ruthlessness and accuracy. It was Sagoe at the heart of the play again as the Londoners doubled their lead through Seb Ferdinand. He dribbled nonchalantly through two or three Exeter midfielders and feigned a shot before squaring the ball to Ferdinand who fired emphatically past MacDonald. Before long, Khayon Edwards had capitalised on a goal-line mistake for three and tapped in after Ed James failed to deal with a cross-come-shot from the right. By this point, the Papa John’s trophy had once again become a development competition for Gary Caudwell as he replaced first-team players with teenagers across the whole pitch. 

By the time a fourth and fifth were added via a deflected John Francis shot from distance and another for Seb Ferdinand on the break respectively, St James Park was emptying fast. Any attempts to get even a consolation goal for the dedicated few still watching on were dull and unemphatic at best.