Arsenal U21s 2 (Ideho 33, M. Smith 45 (pen.) PSV II 7 (Tielemans 6, Sealy 8, Van Duiven 9, 56, Nassoh 59, Priske 83, 88)
By Jeorge Bird @ LV Bet Stadium Meadow Park
Arsenal U21s were knocked out of the Premier League International Cup with a hugely disappointing 7-2 defeat at home to PSV II tonight.
The decision to prioritise the Youth Cup was certainly the correct one, and Arsenal may still have exited this competition even if they had won, but conceding seven goals in a game can never be deemed acceptable.
It was evident that there was a lack of cohesion in the team, and it is no coincidence that the U21s have thrived in the league this season with a settled team.
Arsenal U21s are back in action away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, and it could well be a rather different starting lineup for that fixture.
Arsenal icon Arsene Wenger mocked Man City over FFP rules – ‘Can’t go unpunished’
Arsene Wenger previously made his feelings clear about any teams who buy success unfairly by breaching financial regulations.
Arsene Wenger showed very little sympathy for Manchester City when quizzed on their financial dealings in an interview back in 2020. The legendary former Arsenal boss was asked about the situation involving City at the time which saw them banned from European competition for two years by UEFA over alleged rule breaches, although this was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following a successful appeal.
City again find themselves facing a highly uncertain future after they were accused of an unprecedented number of Financial Fair Play rule breaches by the Premier League after a four-year investigation, which followed the publication of leaked emails by German outlet Der Spiegel back in 2018. Wenger insisted three years ago that any club found guilty of bending the rules should be dealt with accordingly and showed no sympathy for City, who bought a number of his players at Arsenal during his time in charge at the Emirates Stadium.
“They bought all my players! I think this is a big question, you know, I think sport is basically to win by respecting the rules,” said Wenger at the Laureus Awards in 2020.
“That’s what it is about. We celebrate the best in every sport but we want to know that they respect the rules.”If there is no respect for the rules then it’s not real sport, so that’s what I think is the most important. The rules exist and you have to respect them. Once you go into a competition, it means you sign that you will adhere to the competition by respecting the rules.
“I was always for control over financial rules and that clubs work with the natural income they have, the rules that have been created. I’m convinced that at the moment there is evolution to be made in the way the rules are at the moment, but they are what they are and you have to respect them.”The people who don’t respect them are caught by trying to get around the rules in more or less legal ways [and] have to be punished. If it’s proven that this has been done on purpose you cannot let that go unpunished.”
