Defender Taylor Foran has been offered a scholarship deal by Arsenal.
Usually deployed as a centre-back, Foran was an unused substitute for the U18s against Norwich City last season.
Foran becomes the latest youngster to be offered a scholarship deal by Arsenal, following on from striker Khayon Edwards.
Malcolm Ebiowei, who was not offered a deal by the Gunners, is currently training with West Ham United, for whom he featured at U18 level at the weekend.
Jordi Osei-Tutu returned to the starting lineup and played 90 minutes as VfL Bochum drew 1-1 with St. Pauli.
Ben Sheaf played the full game as Doncaster Rovers drew 1-1 against AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup.
Mohamed Elneny played the whole game as Besiktas won 1-0 against Denizlispor.
Deyan Iliev played the whole game as Sered lost 1-0 to Nitra.
William Saliba missed out through injury as Saint-Etienne beat Nantes 3-2.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan wasn’t involved as Roma lost 2-0 to Parma as he is still out injured.
Injury ruled Eddie Nketiah out of Leeds United’s 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers.
U18 Premier League
Fulham 2 (Ablade 21, Stansfield 56) Arsenal 2 (Murphy 43 (o.g.), Oyegoke 59)
Arsenal U18s came from behind to draw 2-2 away to league leaders Fulham today, with first-year scholar Daniel Oyegoke scoring his first goal at this level.
With the U23s not in action, Ben Cottrell was called upon in midfield, while Oyegoke moved across to right-back, with Alex Kirk partnering Mazeed Ogungbo at the heart of the defence.
Graczyk
Oyegoke-Kirk-Ogungbo-Lopez
Patino-Azeez
Alebiosu-Cottrell-Butler Oyedeji
Greenwood
Subs: Matthews (for Butler-Oyedeji, 74), Cirjan (for Patino, 85). Not used: Telfer, Dennis, Plange.
U15 goalkeeper Jamie Telfer was named amongst the substitutes as he received his first callup for the U18s.
Fulham took the lead in the 21st minute, with Terry Ablade finding the net, but Arsenal were level before half-time as Luca Murphy inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
The hosts went 2-1 in front as Jay Stansfield scored, but Oyegoke’s goal ensured Arsenal got a point after he was set up by schoolboy Charlie Patino.
It has been a difficult start to the season for Arsenal U18s, who have taken just nine points from nine games.
Arsenal U16s, meanwhile, beat their Fulham counterparts 5-0, with Khayon Edwards, who was offered scholarship terms this week, amongst the scorers.
The draw for the third round of the FA Youth Cup has been made, with Arsenal to face Cheltenham Town or Portsmouth away in December.
Last season the young Gunners were knocked out by West Bromwich Albion at the quarter-finals stage.
For this season players born between September 1st 2001 and September 1st 2004 are eligible to feature. Here’s a look at how Arsenal could line up.
Goalkeeper
Arthur Okonkwo would most probably start in usual circumstances but he hasn’t played this season due to injury, while Tom Smith is also sidelined.
Karl Hein could well start in goal despite being a regular for the U23s, with Hubert Graczyk providing backup.
Defence
Both Matthew Dennis and Ryan Alebiosu are capable of playing at right-back, but the latter seems slightly more comfortable in a more advanced position, so Dennis could start in defence.
At centre-back, Mazeed Ogungbo will almost certainly start, with Dan Oyegoke an option to partner him, although Alex Kirk will also be pushing for a start.
Joel Lopez, who featured in this competition last season, seems certain to start at left-back.
Midfield
Miguel Azeez, Arsenal’s standout scholar, will start, and Ben Cottrell may drop down from the U18s to partner him.
Catalin Cirjan and schoolboy Charlie Patino could well make the bench.
Attack
Bukayo Saka is still eligible to play in this competition but seems unlikely to be involved given his first-team commitments, while Kido Taylor-Hart has been ruled out for two months due to injury.
Sam Greenwood will start with Alebiosu and the impressive Nathan Butler-Oyedeji likely to play either side of him, but Alfie Matthews will also be eager to be involved and could be deployed in the number ten position.
Possible team:
Hein
Dennis-Ogungbo-Oyegoke-Lopez
Azeez-Cottrell
Alebiosu-Matthews-Butler Oyedeji
Greenwood
Subs: Graczyk, Kirk, Cirjan, Patino, Plange.
Other options: Saka, Flaherty, Ejeheri, Laing, Mitchell, Virginia, Jeffcott, Norton-Cuffy, Awe, Foran, Jones, Flores, Sweet, Sagoe Jr., Bandeira, Gaspar, Vigar, Hutchinson, Edwards.
Injured: Okonkwo, T. Smith, Sraha, Taylor-Hart
Arsenal have offered a scholarship contract to striker Khayon Edwards ahead of next season.
Edwards, who has been at Arsenal since pre-academy level, has been in prolific form for the U16s so far this season.
The Hale End youngster has yet to be called up to the U18 squad, but he will be part of that setup next season if he elects to stay at the club, while there is also a possibility that he could be called up by Ken Gillard before the end of the current campaign.
It was previously announced that the talented Malcolm Ebiowei has not been offered scholarship terms by Arsenal.
Decisions are also required on the remaining members of the U16 squad, including Edu’s son Luigi Gaspar, a midfielder.
Defender Zane Monlouis has featured for the U18s and is expected to be offered a deal, while Charlie Patino, Marcelo Flores, Zach Awe, Taylor Foran, Henry Jeffcott, Remy Mitchell and Pedro Virginia have also been called up at that level.
Winger Omari Hutchinson, who has been highly rated for some time, is also under consideration along with England youth defender Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
Harry Jones, James Sweet, Charles Sagoe Jr., Mauro Bandeira and Billy Vigar complete the list of players on whom a decision must be made.
Leasing.com Trophy
Cambridge United 1 (Knibbs 40) Arsenal 1 (John-Jules 59) (Arsenal win 4-3 on penalties)
Arsenal U21s’ Leasing.com Trophy campaign came to an end tonight, with a 1-1 draw away to Cambridge United which was followed by the young Gunners prevailing 4-3 on penalties, meaning that they secured a bonus point.
Tyreece John-Jules, who continued to lead the line in the absence of Folarin Balogun, scored Arsenal’s goal as they ended up taking two points from this game after getting none from their previous two fixtures.
Steve Bould made a host of alterations to his side, with Matt Macey starting in goal, while James Olayinka returned from injury and Zech Medley, Tobi Omole and Mark McGuinness were all given starts.
Olayinka almost marked his comeback with a goal in the early stages of the game, but Cambridge goalkeeper Callum Burton denied him.
Konstantinos Mavropanos, Nathan Tormey and John-Jules all then had attempts but were unable to find the net.
Tormey was thwarted by an excellent stop from Burton and then Cambridge took the lead just before half time courtesy of a strike from Harvey Knibbs.
Knibbs spurned another opportunity in the early stages of the second half, but Arsenal were then given a source of encouragement when Cambridge were reduced to ten men, with Liam O’Neil receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Medley.
Arsenal were buoyed by their numerical advantage, with John-Jules then rattling the crossbar with a fierce effort.
Eventually, Arsenal managed to pull level, and it was John-Jules who scored, with the striker finishing well with a neat finish.
John-Jules was denied by Burton as Arsenal sought to go ahead, and Bould threw on creative flair in the form of Ben Cottrell and Trae Coyle.
Sam Greenwood entered the fray last on but the key moment of the closing stages came when Macey had to be alert to prevent Cambridge from getting a late winner.
The game then went to penalties, and Arsenal got off to a bad start as Omole missed his spot-kick. However, Greenwood, Burton, Medley and Cottrell all scored, with Cambridge missing two penalties as Arsenal ended what has been a challenging Leasing.com Trophy campaign on a positive note.
Arsenal: Macey; McGuinness (Coyle, 74), Mavropanos, Medley; Olowu, Burton, M. Smith, Omole; Olayinka (Cottrell, 67); John-Jules, Tormey (Greenwood, 86). Subs not used: Hillson, Clarke, Bola, Swanson.
When Trae Coyle was a schoolboy, there was a feeling within the Arsenal setup that he could follow the same trajectory as Reiss Nelson, who was in the age group above him.
Now, however, Nelson is part of the first-team squad, whereas Coyle is still in the U23 side. For context, this time last season Nelson was making an impact on loan at Hoffenheim, with Coyle currently still waiting to make a senior appearance of any description.
Injuries haven’t helped Coyle’s cause, but there has evidently been something missing from his game over the past couple of years, with the winger often lacking the dynamism that made him such a standout prospect in the first place.
This was a player who was featuring for Arsenal in the UEFA Youth League as a schoolboy, yet now he has barely even trained with the first-team.
Of late, however, there have been some significant signs of improvement for Coyle, who is now one of the first names of the teamsheet for Steve Bould’s U23 side.
Coyle has appeared to be playing with greater confidence as he has taken on opponents with increased regularity and he is also having more efforts on goal.
In the victory away to rivals Tottenham Hotspur last week, Coyle was especially impressive and he marked the occasion by scoring his first goal of the season.
The hope now is that Coyle will continue to push on further and start to demonstrate that he can be a real star at U23 level.
That goal against Tottenham was Coyle’s first ever strike for the U23s in his 23rd appearance, which is rather surprising as he mustered 18 goals in 47 games for the U18s.
In tonight’s Leasing.com Trophy clash against Cambridge United, Coyle will be presented with another opportunity to prove his worth, and the switch to deploy him primarily on the right flank as opposed to the left has also benefitted his game.
If he continues to progress then Coyle may still have a chance of making the grade at Arsenal, despite having not developed as quickly as had been hoped.
Coyle is still only 18 years old and helped Arsenal U18s to win the southern section title last season. His familiarity with playing with right-back Zak Swanson has also been very useful for the U23s this campaign.
At present chances are few and far between for members of the U23 side to get into the first-team, but that could well change in the near future, especially if Arsenal secure early qualification for the Europa League knockout stages and get a favourable draw in the third round of the FA Cup.
Coyle is eager to not get carried away, but after a period of stagnation, he is now heading in the right direction again.
