Andy Myers leads his boys into a round-of-16 clash against the Gunners, kick-off at 7pm UK time, and here we preview this evening’s tie…

Team news

Myers will almost certainly be without a number of Academy regulars who have been called up to fulfil senior team duties in recent weeks. Harvey Vale, Lewis Baker and Lewis Hall, who all featured in our 5-1 FA Cup win over Chesterfield on Saturday, are unlikely to be involved at the Emirates.

In addition, Xavier Simons, Teddy Sharman-Lowe and Charlie Webster, who were also in the squad for that same fixture despite not featuring, will probably be unavailable.

However, we are not without options. Our development squad’s last game in all competitions was a 5-0 victory over Leicester City. In this, we saw players like Joe Haigh, Ben Elliott and Jayden Wareham perform well and this is what will be needed to beat our PL2 foes, who currently sit fourth in the league.

Last time out

In our last outing in this competition, we managed to beat League Two leaders Forest Green Rovers 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time. Tricky forward Josh March opened the scoring for the Gloucestershire-based side but we instantly responded through Tariq Uwakwe, who scored a great goal.

With nothing to separate the two sides, a penalty shoot-out ensued. With our boys already having lost a shoot-out to Cheltenham in the group stages, we showed tremendous spirit and quality to come out on top this time around.

Baker, George Nunn, Xavier Mbuyamba and Hall all scored their penalties, while Forest Green missed their first two due to great saves from goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom, who had a fine game.

Recent head-to-heads

In recent times, a fixture against the Arsenal development squad has proven to be a tough match-up. Our last three fixtures against today’s opponents have seen us lose, win and draw, highlighting how resilient we need to be to get the win tonight.

Earlier this season, the north London side handed our boys a 6-1 defeat at Kingsmeadow. In the two fixtures last year, we beat them once 3-0 with goals from Ian Maatsen, Bryan Fiabema and Tino Livramento. The second occasion was a 2-2 draw with Thierno Ballo and Marcel Lewis on the scoresheet in that one.

Arsenal's last five results:

Brighton (a) - drew 1-1Southampton (a) - won 3-2Everton (a) - lost 2-0Derby County (h) - lost 5-3Blackburn Rovers (a) - won 3-2

Ticket information

Please note there will be a limited capacity for today's fixture and seating will be situated in the lower tier only of the Emirates Stadium. We strongly advise supporters to purchase their tickets in advance from Arsenal as tickets will not be on sale on the evening of the match.

Ticket Prices

Adults - £4Concessions (Over 65s or U16s) - £2

COVID-19

In accordance with the Government's Plan B regulations, all fans must have COVID certification to attend a match at Emirates Stadium. Any supporters unable to provide a valid COVID pass or proof of a negative lateral flow / PCR test when asked will not be permitted to enter the stadium.

Supporters attending must fill out this declaration form in advance