The Arsenal first-team are still unbeaten in the early stages of the season and the same sentiment applies to the Gunners’ U21 side, who have now taken seven points from their first three games after beating West Bromwich Albion 4-2 last night.

In front of a small crowd at Emirates Stadium Arsenal took the lead through a wonderfully-executed free-kick from Dan Crowley, with Chuba Akpom proceeding to score a hat-trick to seal the win. West Brom, pouncing on some slack defending, scored two late goals as something of a consolation, but Arsenal were in control for the majority of the game.

There were further positives to take, too, with Abou Diaby completing 45 minutes on his latest return to action. The midfielder is yet to feature competitively this season, but was impressive last night as he played some intelligent passes. Francis Coquelin and Joel Campbell also received run-outs, with the latter, operating as a playmaker, setting up Akpom for the goal that clinched his hat-trick.

Hector Bellerin, who is on the cusp of the first-team squad himself, caught the eye rampaging forwards from right-back, with the Spaniard creating another of Akpom’s goals with a precise cross.

The only downside generated by the involvement of the first-team players was that it meant that some of the U21 regulars such as Gedion Zelalem, Kristoffer Olsson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles had to be content with a place on the bench. Still, in front of the watching Arsene Wenger, it was a useful opportunity for some of the fringe first-team squad members to prove their worth.

The futures of two further players who fall into that category are yet to be resolved. Ignasi Miquel has trained regularly with the senior squad since returning from his loan spell at Leicester City, but the tall centre-back is now being linked with a permanent switch to Norwich City, a move that would surely be beneficial for his career at this stage.

Ryo Miyaichi, meanwhile, is over the injury he suffered towards the end of last season, but it’s currently unclear what the immediate future holds for the Japanese winger. The 21 year old is out of contract in the Summer and seems likely to depart on a permanent basis next June, but there haven’t been any suggestions that he could leave before the end of the current transfer window.

There was good news on the loanees front this week, with Benik Afobe making headlines by scoring a brace in MK Dons’ sensational 4-0 win over Manchester United in the Capital One Cup. It then emerged that Afobe signed a new contract with Arsenal shortly before heading out on loan, which could suggest that his chance of making the grade at Emirates Stadium hasn’t quite been extinguished yet.



–

Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird