‘Unreal’: Some Arsenal fans wowed by 18-year-old attacking midfielder’s assist for U21s last night

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A number of Arsenal fans have praised Gunners academy midfielder Ben Cottrell for his role in Miguel Azeez’s matchwinner for the Under-21s last night.

Arsenal’s youngsters faced Crawley in their EFL Trophy clash at the Broadfield Stadium and made it two wins out of two in the competition.

The Gunners took the lead after just 15 minutes, Kido Taylor-Hart rounding the opposition goalkeeper and teeing up Jordan McEneff for a simple finish.

However, the League Two side equalised in the 37th minute through debutant Max Watters, who beat his marker for pace before slotting home from inside the area.

Arsenal’s U21s set about trying to get back in front and, in the 55th minute, grabbed a superb winner as Azeez clinically fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

The build-up saw a wonderful turn from Cottrell to beat his marker, enabling Azeez to pick up the ball and try his luck.

Arsenal’s academy Twitter account shared a video of the goal and, while there was praise for the goalscorer, number 41 also earned plaudits.

Here is some of the social media reaction to the 18-year-old’s assist:

“I’m now an attacking midfielder,” Cottrell, formerly a full-back, told the Arsenal website in 2018.

“I enjoy making and scoring goals but midfielders need to make a contribution defending and that comes naturally to me because of my time as a defender.

“But it’s an area I want to develop further. I like to learn from players like Steven Gerrard who could make and score goals but was phenomenal defensively too.”