Boss praises Arsenal u23s’ character after 7 late goals in 5 games | OneFootball

Arsenal u23 boss Kevin Betsy has praised the group’s character after their latest dramatic late goal against Blackburn Rovers with 10 men.

The Arsenal u23s celebrate a goal against Crystal Palace (Photo via David Price on Twitter)

The Arsenal u23s are on a run of late goals, having scored seven in the 85th minute or later in their last five Premier League 2 games.

The goals against Everton and Leeds United were only to secure the result, and the goal against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League Cup was just a consolation.

But the three injury-time goals against Leicester City won them a point, and the winning goal in the 89th minute against Blackburn Rovers secured all three.

More than that, it was yet another example of Arsenal digging in after losing a player.

The Arsenal u23s beat Chelsea earlier in the season despite having Omar Rekik sent off in the 37th minute, scoring three further goals in the remainder of the match to win 6-1.

They got that injury-time draw against Leicester after Karl Hein came off with an injury and Arsenal had no substitutes left to replace him.

Then they won the game against Blackburn despite having Brooke Norton-Cuffy sent off for a last-man handball.

Across the three games, Arsenal have scored seven goals and conceded just three during the period of the match when they had a man disadvantage.

Kevin Betsy was unsurprisingly keen to praise his team after their latest victory.

“The group has got tremendous character,” he said.

“They’ve done this before with 10 men in the past this season and come up with a win when it looks like we could lose, there’s fantastic character amongst the players tonight.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Flo Balogun of Arsenal celebrates with teammate Salah Oulad M’Hand after scoring the team’s first goal during the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal U23 and Brighton & Hove Albion U23 at Emirates Stadium on October 01, 2021. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)

“It’s part of our identity, it’s part of who we are as a club, developing strong young Gunners here at Arsenal, it’s credit to the players.

“They’ve done it numerous times this season, It’s not a fluke.

“When the chips are down or it looks like we might lose a game or come away with just a draw, they find a way to win the game and it shows great resilience and character.

“Credit to the guys, they work really hard in training every single day and they get their rewards come match day.”

Arsenal wouldn’t be top of the Premier League 2 without those extra late points, so their fight to the end is really making a difference right now.