Goodplaya writes: I chickened out of this one on the premise that three Arsenal matches in five days might test even my very easy going girlfriend’s patience. This comes from our special correspondent.

Youth Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates
Arsenal 4 Man City 1 (6-2 agg)

A VERY entertaining night at The Emirates to see Arsenal ease through the second leg of the FA Youth Cup semi final, 4-1 on the night, making it 6-2 on aggregate after a much tougher night away at Man City.

Tickets were available at £10 from a well-staffed box office right up to kick off, and I was one of many who turned up by chance having seen the crowds of kids in Arsenal shirts milling down Holloway Road.

Three sides of the lower tier were opened up on a first-come, first-sat basis and most of us opted for a central view from the East and West stands. The North stand filled up as Arsenal attacked it in the second half, and by the end, it looked a much bigger crowd than the 9,500 announced as the official attendance.

Particular praise for the gaggle of 300-or-so mostly teenage boys and girls who formed an impromptu singing section in the far corner of the North stand, on their feet throughout, keeping up almost constant bursts of ‘Red Army’ and ‘Stand Up If You Hate Tottenham’, and teaching lots of bad words to the hundreds of primary age kids in attendance.

Arsenal got off to a perfect start after a minute when skipper Jay Emmanuel Thomas curled a long pass over the top, the City keeper retreated onto his line (think Stuart Taylor against Riise), and Sanchez Watt beat the defenders to slash the ball in for 1-0.

Whether that gave him confidence or not, Watt was utterly brilliant for the rest of the night, whereas – strangely – J-E Thomas (or JET as the kids call him) looked as though his work was done, and coasted through the last 89 minutes.

City came back strongly, but the Arsenal defence looked and felt like a Steve Bould creation: a chevron formation, with Kyle Bartley and Luke Ayling doing a passable imitation of Bould and Adams themselves.

And like the Bould-Adams back four, whenever the line was breached, the four defenders tore back like Banshees and crunched into clearing tackles and interceptions. The contrast with Tuesday night’s effort at Anfield couldn’t have been bigger.

I was looking forward to seeing Emmanuel Frimpong, but he had a bizarre night. He made two awful late tackles on dangerous City midfielder Ibrahim in the first ten minutes, and finally got a yellow card for the third. After that, he did very little bar the odd unproductive charge out of midfield. I kept thinking Eboue as I watched him, and not in the occasionally good way.

On the positive side, Bartley – who is tall but has some growing out to do, like a young Rio Ferdinand – then set up the second goal with another beautifully-weighted long ball over the top. Sanchez Watt again got to it first and was knocked arse-over-tit by the keeper. A penalty but no card.

Jack Wilshere – quiet up to that point – seemed to wave away either some advice or a request to take the kick from J-E Thomas, and slapped it in to the keeper’s left.

Wilshere then curled in a lovely corner with his left foot, this after equally lovely work on the right from Francis Coquelin, and Bartley headed in for 3-0.

Quickly afterwards, Watt got his reward for literally non-stop hassling of the City defence, nicking the ball off their left back, sprinting into the box and firing under the keeper for his second.

As well as having a fantastic work ethic, huge energy, two good feet, incredible pace, a great pass, and a decent spring for headers, Watt is clearly a natural finisher. He’s a bit like the very young (Makita tournament) Andy Cole, but a bit like Cole, he may be one of those players who needs to have a good day to have a good day.

So, 4-0 up after 30 minutes, and unlike their first-team counterparts, there was not the slightest chance of this Arsenal team shipping 4 goals at the other end. Not that City didn’t attack well or have chances, but just that this Bouldie-managed Back Four defended like demons.

Particularly impressive was right back Craig Eastmond. Bad things have occasionally been said about him on the various youth team blogs, but however he’s played in the past, he was exceptional last night and looked a very healthy chip off the Cole, Clichy, Gibbs block.

He and Bartley made for an impenetrable right side of the defence, and it was no wonder City turned all their attack onto the left side after the break, putting Thomas Cruise and Ayling through a tough second half.

City got one back on 46 minutes, and there was lots of work for the defence and keeper to do after that, as the midfield and forwards – bar Watt and Coquelin – took it easy with the tie won.

Wilshere had a late flurry, whizzing one over the bar, and showing he could work for the team by chasing down the City right back and taking a clearance in the face.

People say Wilshere doesn’t shine in these youth games because he isn’t up for it enough. Bollocks. The difference is that in these games he’s too often having to control bouncing balls or contest possession to get any time on the ball, compared to the first team – when it’s laid on a platter for him by the likes of Fabregas.

It was plain sailing to the final whistle, after which we enjoyed the pleasant sight of the Arsenal youngsters taking a lazy lap of honour before dissolving happily into the arms of their mates and family near the dugouts.

A word about the Arsenal manager Steve Bould. He barely came out of the dugout area all match, but it was noticeable when he did that it was usually to upbraid the defence over some lapse. And the players listened to him. They were well-drilled and knew enough about each other’s roles to have a go at each other for any perceived failing. I’m off to the bookies tomorrow to ask about the odds on Bouldie to succeed Arsene.

It was a jolly atmosphere coming away from the ground. Lovely to see 13-year olds who maybe don’t always get to go see the first team finding it hilarious and novel to ask each other: ‘What do you think of Tottenham?’, ‘What do you think of shit?’……About 60 times. Just like we did a few years ago. Great days.