Gunners boss urges caution.
Arsenal |
4-1 |
Liverpool |
Sunu 21, Wilshere 35 (pen), Watt 57 Emmanuel-Thomas 66 |
|
Kacaniklic 37 |
The FA Youth Cup, sponsored by E.ON
The Final, First Leg
8pm, Friday 22 May 2009
Emirates Stadium, Arsenal FC
Arsenal youth boss Steve Bould saw his team take a commanding first leg lead on Friday evening and spoke afterwards of his delight at seeing his squad put in such a performance.
The young Gunners sealed their place in The Final with a 4-1 win over current holders Manchester City in the Semi-Final but Bould wasn’t quite so happy with his team’s performance on that occasion and he made sure they knew about it.
There were no such problems at the Emirates on Friday though, as goals from Gilles Sunu, Jack Wilshere, Sanchez Watt and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas gave them a firm advantage to take to Anfield next Tuesday.
“It was a big occasion and thankfully we played something like we can,” admitted Bould.
"We were live on the television, there were over 33,000 people here tonight and the manager’s watching.
"For 20 minutes they were nervous, a bit edgy and didn’t want to get the ball down but they worked it out and they’ve got masses of character as well as ability.
“It took us 20 minutes to get going and what helped us was Jack Wilshere dropping more central. Unfortunately Emmanuel Frimpong had to come off but that was when Jack started getting on the ball.”
Bould was still quick to emphasise that there is another 90 minutes and possibly more to be played at Anfield next Tuesday, so he ensured that any celebrations from his players were certainly muted.
“I think they will probably open the game up a little bit,” he added.
“We’ve still got problems (to deal with) so if we don’t do it right, we’re in trouble as we’re only halfway there. “
