'Far from over'

Manchester City 1-2 Arsenal
The FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON
Semi-Final, First Leg
City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City FC
7pm, Wednesday 18 March 2009

Steve Bould has urged his Arsenal side not to get carried away, despite inflicting a first defeat of the season on Manchester City in their FA Youth Cup Semi-Final first leg on Wednesday night.

The young Gunners trailed 1-0 at the break, but goals from captain Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Gilles Sunu secured a slender advantage going into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

It was the third time in the competition that Arsenal have turned a half-time deficit into a victory, and Bould believes a change in shape had a rejuvenating effect on his players.

"We put Jack Wilshere just behind the front two and moved Sanchez Watt up one into a diamond shape," said Bould. "That helped us. We passed the ball better and found some little pockets of space high up the pitch. We were a bit deep in the first half and it was all a little bit pedestrian.

"We needed a bit more urgency and I think the change helped us defensively as well.

"It will be a tough second leg at the Emirates and I just hope our kids don't get too carried away thinking the game is won because it's far from over. That will be the difficult part with this group."

Arsenal are now just one step away from a first Final appearance since 2001, and their manager thinks the winning habit his squad have developed could be the difference come the return leg in London.

"They don't panic and they have got a bit of arrogance about them," Bould added. "They have got great character, belief and they have been playing together for seven years and they are used to winning football games. It's a good habit to get into."

Goals
Manchester City
Nimely-Tchuimeni 41

Arsenal
Emmanuel-Thomas 71, Sunu 82