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Arsenal's FA Youth Cup Sixth Round tie earlier this week attracted a 11,610 crowd to Emirates Stadium.

After the kick-off had been delayed with many people still queuing to get in at 7 o'clock, Arsenal's Jay Simpson scored a hat-trick in the Young Gunners' 3-2 win against Cardiff City.

Monday's crowd was the largest for an FA Youth Cup match outside the Final and Semi-Finals for at least 15 years.

These have been the top six Youth Cup attendances since the 1991-92 season:

  • 31,037 - Leeds United v Manchester United in the 1993 Final second leg
  • 30,562 - Manchester United v Leeds United in the 1993 Final first leg
  • 24,000 - West Ham United v Coventry City in the 1999 Final second leg
  • 20,600 - Liverpool v West Ham United in the 1996 Final second leg
  • 20,190 - Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur in the 1995 Final second leg
  • 18,651 - Aston Villa v Everton in the 2002 Final second leg

The 31,037 who saw Leeds win 2-1 on the night to secure a 4-1 aggregate success against Manchester United in 1993 is thought to be the record attendance for any FA Youth Cup match. Jamie Forrester and Matthew Smithard were on target for Leeds, while Paul Scholes netted from the spot for Manchester after a foul on Keith Gillespie.

An estimated 30,000 saw Everton win the 1965 Final against Arsenal at Goodison and there were crowds close to 30,000 at Wolves (1954), Blackburn (1959) and Preston (1960). When George Best and Manchester United won the 1964 Final against Swindon, there were 25,000 inside Old Trafford for the second leg.