Our Under-19s will aim to secure back-to-back home wins as we host Shakhtar Donetsk at Mangata Pay UK Stadium in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday, October 22. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:30pm (UK time).
In our last outing, we battled to a well-earned victory over Paris Saint-Germain, with Andre Harriman-Annous scoring the decisive goal on his debut.
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The Opposition: Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar U19s currently sit one place above us in the group, with three points from their first two matches. They kicked off their European campaign with a thrilling 4-3 away win against Bologna, courtesy of a 90th-minute winner from Bodhan Tryfanenko. However, their second match ended in a 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta.
Domestically, Shakhtar play in the Ukraine U19 league, where they were last champions in 2020/21. This season, they've been in scintillating form, winning nine and drawing one of their first ten games. They currently sit first in the table, level on points with Dynamo Kyiv, who they face this Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash.
Youth League History
We've met Shakhtar once before in the UEFA Youth League, back in the inaugural 2013/14 season. In the Round of 16, we triumphed 3-1, thanks to goals from Jon Toral, Kristoffer Olsson, and Serge Gnabry. Interestingly, current Arsenal first-team player Oleksandr Zinchenko was part of the Shakhtar squad that day.
Shakhtar are no strangers to the Youth League, although they exited in the group stage last season, finishing third behind Porto and Barcelona. Their best-ever finish came in 2014/15, when they reached the final but were narrowly beaten 3-2 by Chelsea.
How to Follow
You can attend the match in person for free at the Mangata Pay UK Stadium, with entry to all Premier League 2 and UEFA Youth League fixtures complimentary.
For those following remotely, we'll have live updates on our Academy X page, with a full match report on Arsenal.com after the final whistle. Post-match interviews with Max Porter and one of our young Gunners, plus highlights, will also be available.
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