Arsenal academy reach final of Next Gen Cup without conceding once | OneFootball

The Arsenal u15s have reached the final of the Next Gen Cup in Beijing, after a faultless group stage from the young Gunners.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

The Arsenal u15s have been in Beijing over the last week playing in the Next Gen Cup, the first time the tournament has been held in China.

The tournament is contested between Premier League Academy sides and top Chinese youth teams, kicking off on April 3rd and concluding this weekend.

Arsenal academy coach Craig Smith is leading the team, accompanied by both his coaching staff and Gunners academy manager Per Mertesacker – who is on his last tour with the academy before his summer exit.

The English teams involved on this occasion have been Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Wolves, joining four Chinese academy teams and the Hong Kong China u16 Elite Selection Team at the tournament. The eight sides involved were split into two groups, with the group winners to face each other in the final.

Photo via Arsenal Academy on Instagram

Arsenal were drawn in Group A alongside Aston Villa, Shijiazhuang Gongfu, and the Beijing FA, and they racked up the wins in the group stage.

The Gunners dispatched Shijiazhuang Gongfu 1-0 in the opening game thanks to a close-range finish from Zach Van Der Straaten after a corner, then eased past Aston Villa 3-0 to take control of the group.

Luis Munoz and Jaden Maghoma scored two in the first three minutes of the Villa game to kill the contest almost instantly, and Maghoma made sure of the result with another goal shortly after the half-time break.

Photo via Maghoma on Instagram

Only needing a draw in their final match to finish top, the young Gunners thrashed the Beijing FA team 4-0 to reach the final in style.

The final will be played on Saturday, April 11th against the winner of Group B, whose identity is yet to be formally confirmed.

But the most likely opponent is Zhejiang FC, who defeated Shanghai Shenhua and Wolves in their opening two fixtures, and thus only needed a draw from their final game to top the group.

Arsenal u15 squad at Next Gen Cup

Photo via Arsenal.com

Kendrick Van Djoy, Max Lo Presti, Zach Van Der Straaten, Frankie Wyatt, Hudson Sando, Onye Asiegbu, Isaiah Matthews, Beau Luton, Keyaan Davison, Fletcher McBryde, Mikael Bonaventure Yetna, Noah Laditan, Blake Day King, Emmanuel Ahaneku, Reiss Tweneboa-Kudoa, Jaden Maghoma, Kyron Raymond-Callender, Luis Munoz, Bubacarr Jallow, Leo Aliadiere, Ezra Okafor