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Arsenal win FA Youth Cup
Liverpool (0) 1 Arsenal (1) 2; Agg 2-6
Arsene Wenger may not have been on hand to witness it, but Arsenal last night picked up their first trophy in four years as the crop of youngsters heralded as the Frenchman’s best ever eased to victory in the Youth Cup final.
A 4-1 win at the Emirates last Friday had all but rendered the second leg meaningless, certainly once the fabulously named Sanchez Watt had given the visitors the lead on the night with a singeing burst of pace and a placed finish at the Kop end. Lauri Dalla Valle equalised before Watt’s shot deflected off Daniel Ayala to erase all doubt.
This Arsenal generation, should they go on to fulfil their potential – never a guarantee with Youth Cup winning teams – could prove to be Wenger’s legacy. They have been raised imbued with the Frenchman’s philosophy, they are largely local and in Jack Wilshere, they have an heir apparent to Cesc Fabregas’s throne.
Wenger has mined a rich seam of talent which Rafa Benitez, seated in the directors’ box, will hope his revamped youth system can one day match. He has high hopes for Dalla Valle, a Finnish youth striker, but he is unlikely to threaten Fernando Torres’s place for at least a couple of years.
In contrast, in Wilshere and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Arsenal already have two players on the cusp of Wenger’s thoughts. Little wonder this game seemed, at times, to be men against boys. |
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