Arsenal’s defeat to Olympiacos in the NextGen Series last night may have left something of a bitter taste, especially as it was Terry Burton’s first competitive loss since taking over two of the club’s development teams, but there will at least be a chance to exact swift revenge when the Greek side travel to Underhill for the return fixture early next month.

By then, Burton should be even more knowledgable about the players at his disposal, with both the U21s and the U18s taking on Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United in the interim. Yesterday’s performance was been rather disjointed, particularly in the second period, but Burton will surely emphasise to his squad prior to the return fixture that taking points from their home fixtures will be paramount if they are to stand a chance of progressing to the next phase.

Winning is, evidently, not the be all and end all at development level, with focus more centred on the progress of individuals, but competitions such as these, which is the closest you can get to a youth version of the Champions League, provide an opportunity to educate the youngsters regarding the importance of battling for points should they eventually progress to senior football.

Wingers Serge Gnabry and Anthony Jeffrey showed quality in patches yesterday, but Burton will have bemoaned the absence of Kristoffer Olsson, who missed out because of international commitments. Olsson, the sublime Swedish midfielder, is capable of using his trickery and commendable passing ability to provide a vital link between defence and attack, something which was evidently absent yesterday.

With Jon Toral also unavailable through injury, Burton elected to deploy Kyle Ebecilio in the most advanced midfield role, but the Dutchman, who has made some impressive cameos so far this season in the U21 League as a winger, did not seem particularly suited to this position and was not heavily involved.

Perhaps the most suitable option was left at home. Jack Jebb, who turned 17 the day before the game, was tipped, along with Chuba Akpom, to make the biggest impact out of the new batch of scholars that commenced their careers at London Colney in July. Akpom and Jebb made their debut for the U18s in the same game, as substitutes in an away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur two years ago, and both featured somewhat regularly at that level last season as schoolboys, but, this season, there has been something of a chasm in their respective fortunes.

Whereas Akpom has been fast-tracked to the extent that he is now the club’s principal striker at U21 and NextGen Series level, whilst also being tipped for a potential first-team debut in the Capital One Cup later this month, Jebb has found himself restricted to three starts for Pat Holland’s U18s and is yet to be called into either of Burton’s squads for a competitive fixture.

It is, of course, early days, as the season is only around a month old, but Jebb would surely have expected to be more heavily involved than this, especially when other first-year scholars, the likes of Alex Iwobi, Austin Lipman, Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, Alfred Mugabo and Akpom, have all received call-ups.

It is true that Jebb’s passing, which has long been regarded as his strong suit, has not always been at its imperious best so far this season, with the midfielder guilty of playing some sloppy balls in the heavy opening day defeat to Bolton Wanderers. The England youth international will be hopeful, though, that, as the season progresses, he will slowly be incorporated into the U21 set-up.