A mountain to climb

Arsenal v Manchester City (Agg 2-1)
The FA Youth Cup, sponsored by E.ON
Semi-Final Second Leg
Wednesday 22 April 2009
7pm, Emirates Stadium, Arsenal FC

Manchester City's Academy Manager Jim Cassell admits his team face an uphill task to retain The FA Youth Cup this season.

The holders travel to Arsenal for their Semi-inal second leg on Wednesday evening finding themselves 2-1 down after losing at home last month.

And with both clubs currently the runaway leaders of their respective divisions, it promises to be an enthralling tie at the Emirates.

"Given how they played when they came to us, we've got a mountain to climb" admitted Cassell. 

"Most people will be looking for them to go through, but we'll give our all.

"We're really pleased to still be involved in the latter stages of such a prestigious competition, given that much of the squad are new to this level.

"We're going to come down and perform to the best of our abilities to try and reach The Final. If we can play as well as we did in the first half of the last game for the whole 90 minutes this time, we have a chance."

While City lead the Premier Academy League Group C by 16 points and won 5-2 at home to Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, Arsenal are currently 26 points clear at the top of Group A.

Cassell certainly holds the Arsenal set-up in high regard and has been impressed with the results they are producing.

"I have great respect for what they do at Arsenal, and in particular the work of Liam Brady (Arsenal's Head Of Youth Development)," he added.

"But we won't be overawed. We'll be looking to perform to the best of our abilities, create chances and, as ever, hope to get the rub of the green for the luck you need."