Arsenal U21's 0-1 Reading U21's: Wilshere excellent but Gunners succumb to narrow defeat

Arsenal U21's entertained Reading's U21's at The Emirates Stadium on Monday evening, as the Young Gunners looked to capitalize on their match in hand over the teams above them in Division Two of the Professional U21 Development League. A few familiar faces were on show; Jack Wilshere, Serge Gnabry and Abou Diaby all started the evening kick-off in North London as they continued their progression from respective injuries to try and force their way back into the rigours of the first-team.

Teams -

Arsenal: Macey, Pleguezuelo, O'Connor, Bielik, Ormonde-Ottewill, Diaby, Maitland-Niles, Crowley, Wilshere, Gnabry and Iwobi.

Reading: Lincoln, Long, Griffin, Shaughnessy, Keown, Sweeney, Owusu, Kuhl, Cardwell, Kelly and Fosu-Henry.

The hosts started brightly, with talented creative midfielder Dan Crowley having a stinging volley fire over Daniel Lincoln's crossbar within the first few minutes of play. Then, a defensive lapse in concentration allowed ex-Gunner Martin Keown's young son Niall Keown to jump highest and angle a power header beyond Matt Macey into the bottom corner of the net in the sixth minute.

Tarique Fosu-Henry was Reading's danger man throughout the game, and his first real involvement came after eight minutes, when he cut inside the area with relative ease, beating a defensive marker in the process before trying to curl an effort towards goal - which was deflected wide. Another warning sign for Arsenal, who found themselves behind and could have easily been two or three-nil behind if it was not for the reactions of Macey in between the posts to comfortably smother a dangerous cross whipped into the box.

Krystian Bielik thread through a well-placed pass into Serge Gnabry's feet, but the young German sliced the shot wide of the mark, to emphasise the frustrations in the final third in the early going. Alex Iwobi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles exchanged one-two passes on the edge of the area, but no team-mate was able to latch onto the eventual ball, which was played into the box with some considerable pace and only needed a touch to slot the ball into the back of the net.

Gnabry showcased his quick footwork and neat skills to beat his man on the edge of the box before being brought down for a free-kick in a dangerous position, with the eventual contact from captain Wilshere swerved over the bar. Bielik was given a rather harsh booking halfway through the first-half, but managed to compose himself and command his position perfectly as the 17-year-old Pole proved his versatility by tracking back as a makeshift centre-back, despite being an actual central or defensive-minded midfielder.

The first shot on target for Arsenal was recorded in the 35th minute, as Gnabry fired goalwards after being set through with a one-on-one chance on the counter attack. His effort was well stopped by Lincoln, who did his utmost to keep a clean sheet.

Arguably the best piece of skill in the match from an Arsenal perspective on the stroke of half-time, Wilshere went on a jinking run from outside the box, beating three Reading defenders with the ball virtually stuck to his feet, before his eventual shot fizzed past Lincoln, who managed to get his fingertips to the shot to parry it over the crossbar. The fourth official signalled for just a minute of stoppage time to be added on, which went quickly with Arsenal behind at the interval.

As the second-half began, the hosts started initally well. Crowley used his creative magic to fashion a half-chance out of nothing before setting up Gnabry, whose shot was blocked by a solid Reading backline. Iwobi then forced a good stop from Lincoln, from close range after a great run from Wilshere into the box - before Reading managed to quell the Gunners barrage of pressure for a solid twenty minutes as a few substitutions, needless fouls and a thigh knock to Bielik interrupted the flow of the match.

Wilshere's midfield partnership with Crowley was excellent to watch at times, and in the 70th minute, the latter almost equalised. The youngster sliced a half-chance just wide, before Gnabry was denied by the quick reactions of Lincoln who rushed out of his area to close down the angles and avoid another shot on his goal.

With less than ten minutes to go, Reading were doing well to hold off Arsenal's attacking threats. Iwobi tried to create a piece of skill, but overall, the team overcomplicated things a tad, meaning they could not make enough goal-scoring chances to warrant an equaliser. Fosu's effort to double the scoring was well saved by Macey, before Iwobi's powerful drive flashed past the target in the end.

The referee blew the whistle after three-and-a-half minutes of stoppage time, meaning that the Gunners miss the chance to leapfrog Reading into third place, having played a match less.