Arsenal Under-21s defeated Manchester United 3-0 in a friendly behind closed doors on Saturday, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gabriel Jesus both in action.
Former Arsenal midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gabriel Jesus helped the Gunners Under-21s to a 3-0 victory over Manchester United in a friendly behind closed doors. The 32-year-old became available in the summer after his spell at Besiktas ended
Journalist Nathan Salt said the North Londoners won on Saturday against a United team reduced to 10 players following the sacking of manager James Overy. Oxlade-Chamberlain recently rejoined the club to work on his fitness and has been training with the youth team.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was spotted taking part in youth team training during the first-team media session ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League game against Slavia Prague. Mikel Arteta said: “If we can help him and give him space to get his speed and have the ability to find the club.”
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“That’s nice. The players will learn from that. I had the privilege of playing with him. If he’s around, he’s going to be a really good example to have around the team.”
Striker Gabriel Jesus also returned to the squad on the day of the match and featured. The Brazilian came on as a substitute against Chelsea last weekend and Brentford in midweek, but was left out of the squad for the defeat to Aston Villa.
Jesus has been out of action since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, requiring surgery, and has only recently resumed full-scale training. “So we used that opportunity to provide players who needed a bit of exposure and competition,” Arteta said.
“It was very positive. Obviously he’s been out for 11 months and we need to make that progress. We need to see how his body and knee reacts and what else he needs.”
“The players we have in place also have to make sense to get the right balance in the squad. The good thing is that we are very close at the moment.”
Max Daumann, who is highly rated in the academy, was also in attendance. Like Jesus, the youngster was not included in the Villa Park squad and played the game behind closed doors. Arteta and Arsenal will consider the friendly a success. They won 3-0 and when Jesus got his game time, Dauman continued his excellent form, finding the back of the net.
Charles Sagoe Jr., who was included in the national squad for the game against Slavia Prague in November, was also one of the scorers. It will be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first appearance for the club since his £35m move to Liverpool in 2017. His contribution in the win over United was the Gunners’ first appearance since the 4-0 thrashing at Anfield in 2017.
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