There was much praise and promise for the Arsenal reserves team of the 2008-09 season, after winning their first FA Cup Youth Cup in eight years under the guidance of Steve Bould, who is now the first team's assistant manager. A 4-1 victory at the Emirates, coupled with a narrow victory at Anfield for the second leg sealed the cup for Arsenal, the tie finishing 6-2 on aggregate. Despite this, only two of the squad of 16 that travelled to Anfield are still on the Gunners' books.
The goalkeeper on that night at Anfield was James Shea. The 23-year-old never managed to make it into the first team at Arsenal, although he did appear on the bench for the Gunners in a Champions League match against Montpellier, Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Fabiański being unable to fill either spot due to injury. In his time at Arsenal, he spent the majority playing in the reserves or being sent out on loan, first to Southampton, where he was recalled by the club after just over a week, and to League Two side Dagenham and Redbridge, where he made one substitute appearance before being called back by the Gunners. Since his departure in June 2013, he has played for three clubs, the most recent of which is AFC Wimbledon, who signed him on a costless transfer at the end of last week.
The defence consisted of four players in the game, with Craig Eastmond, Kyle Bartley, Luke Ayling and Thomas Cruise starting the game for the Gunners. None made any noticeable impact in the first-team before being sold or released. Kyle Bartley is arguably the most recognisable of the back four, having been one of three to make a competitve first-team appearance for Arsenal. He went out on loan four times when at Arsenal, although these were to two clubs (Sheffield United and Rangers). He was quickly offloaded to Swansea after a five-year affiliation with the club, where he has played four league games, recently signing a three-year contract.
Craig Eastmond made four first-team appearances for the Gunners, although he was restricted to fewer minutes than most. After his short-lived spell in the first-team, loan moves to Millwall, Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester followed, the latter being the club that he now plays his football for, having moved on a costless transfer after his Arsenal contract expired. Luke Ayling, however, was one of the first to leave the club after their youth success, departing just one season after the famous victory. He is currently without a club after his Yeovil contract expired, though Bristol City are thought to have agreed a deal to sign the centre-back.
Thomas Cruise was the last of the defenders to start the game. He played a single game for the first team, where he played at left-back against Olympiacos in the Champions League in December 2009. He was loaned out to Carlisle the next season before being released, along with Mark Randall. He plays his football at recently-relegated Torquay United, where he has made 37 appearances, failing to score a goal.
The midfielders of the side are a lot easier to recongise, with one of them being the main star of the Gunners midfield at this time. Henri Lansbury and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas lined up on either side of Jack Wilshere and Francis Coquelin in the 2-1 victory at Anfield. Henri Lansbury spent 13 years at the Gunners before moving on in 2012. He made eight appearances in total for Arsenal in all competitions, scoring one goal, which came against fierce rivals Tottenham in a League Cup game, a goal that he labelled as being "ike a dream". He is now one of Nottingham Forest's most in-demand players, having scored 12 goals in 61 league games, seeing him linked with Fulham and Queens Park Rangers in recent weeks.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas plays a division below Lansbury, for League One Bristol City. Emmanuel-Thomas was the star of the youth side in their cup winning run, scoring in every round, including the final, where he scored the fourth goal at the Emirates in the 4-1 first leg victory. After playing just nine minutes for the senior side, he moved to Ipswich Town, where he struggled to find form, scoring just eight league goals in 70 appearances. He has enjoyed more success at Ashton Gate, with 21 goals from a total of 51 appearances in his first season at the club.
The most recognisable face of the team is explosive midfielder Jack Wilshere. Wilshere was not expected to play in the second leg of the final, although injury to Emmanuel Frimpong meant that he was drafted into the side. After the success of 2009, he played several games in the first team before being sent out on loan to Bolton Wanderers where he had a successful six-month loan spell. His Bolton form saw him make an impression on his international side, and he made his debut as a 18-year-old in the hear of the England midfield. In his breakthrough season at Arsenal, he played 49 times in all competitions, scoing two goals. Since then, despite an injury-hit 15 month period, he has bounced back to play anohter 68 games across the last two seasons, securing his highest goalscoring season as a Gunner in the previous season, bagging five goals in 35 games, the best of which came against Norwich, where he started and finished a fantastic one-touch play:
The final midfielder, who still remains at the club is Francis Coquelin. The 23-year-old midfielder has had his run in the Arsenal first-team and is rated highly by many Arsenal fans. The Frenchman has played in 43 games in total for the Gunners, where he is still without a goal. Last season, he was loaned out to SC Freiburg, where he made 24 appearances, scoring one goal in a Europa League tie against Slovan Liberec of the Czech Republic.
Arsenal have been criticised recently for their lack of English talent in the side, although in this final, they started with nine English players on the pitch. One of these players was Sanchez Watt, who started the game up front alongside Gilles Sunu. Watt was the scorer of the first goal in the second leg, a goal which put Arsenal 5-1 up on aggregate. He only made three first-team appearances for Arsenal did Watt, scoring on his debut against West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup, scoring the rebound from Carlos Vela's saved penalty. After a number of loan deals, six in total, Watt joined Colchester United at the start of the 2013-14 season on a costless transfer, permanently linking up with the right-back of the final, Craig Eastmond. Watt made 22 appearances in League One for the U's last season, scoring three goals, playing predominantly on the wings.
Gilles Sunu has enjoyed less success in his time at Arsenal and his current club FC Lorient. Despite failing to score in nine games on loan at the Ligue 1 club, although all from the bench, he was signed on a four-year contract in 2011. Since joining permanently, he has made little impact, scoring just nine times in 55 games for the French side. He has played for his national side from under-16 level all the way through to under-21s, although a cap for the senior French national team seems highly unlikely.
Out of the 11 players that started the game, only two remain. All five players named on the bench for the second leg have also since departed, although one remains in the Premier League, Conor Henderson recently signing a contract with Steve Bruce's Hull City. With defender Julio Pleguezuelo recently signing professional terms with the Gunners, and the likes of Chuba Akpom and Serge Gnabry breaking into the first team last season, how many of Arsenal's current youth crop could we see make an impact in the future?