Bould: Final push cost Under-18s the title

Steve Bould admits Arsenal Under-18s’ difficult end to the campaign cost them the Premier Academy League Group A crown. In the end Bould’s youngsters finished two points adrift of winners Fulham in third place after picking up just three wins from their final seven matches. But despite falling short, the newly-appointed assistant manager believes the campaign has still been positive for the Club’s young hopefuls.“I think in the main it was quite a successful season,” he told Arsenal Player. “The group as a whole performed much better than the previous year, the players improved and the team certainly did too. I think the nice thing is that we have quite a few young players who look as though they have quite a lot of potential. “In the end we were really disappointed that we didn't win it, and I certainly wouldn't have said that after the first game of the season against Barnsley when we were very poor. I thought we would be in for a really long year. “At the end of the season we couldn't win a game and it cost us because we should have won the league. I think the nice thing about it is that it extends the season [because the winners of each group go into play-offs] but we finished really early. “The last three or four weeks have been tough for everybody because there were no games to play. We might have been playing at the Emirates or somewhere else, so we missed that a little bit.” The likes of Serge Gnabry, Josh Rees and Jordan Wynter all made inroads into the reserve team at the tail end of the season and Bould believes there is plenty to be optimistic about. “I think particularly in the younger group there are a few kids coming through who look like they have great potential,” said the 49-year-old. “The older boys have improved in fairness, one or two beyond all recognition over the last four or five months. “They're all giving themselves a chance to do what they set out to do when they were young kids and get professional contracts. Most of them are doing that and I'm sure most of them will have good careers. Whether they will be here or not we don't know. “As a group I could not have asked for any more, they have worked hard every day and we have had very few problems in terms of worth ethic. I suppose that is to be expected in many ways but it doesn't always happen. They have knuckled down and had a right good go this year."