West Ham United’s U18s were narrowly defeated by Arsenal at Little Heath. Despite goals from Elisha Sowunmi and Riley Hargan, the young Hammers were edged out in a closely contested match. West Ham started by inviting pressure, playing out from the back to create spaces behind Arsenal's defence. This strategy was effective, though Arsenal took the lead after 20 minutes through Ceadach O’Neill, who capitalised on a counter-attack rather than West Ham’s progressive play in their own third. The Hammers quickly responded. Fresh off his first Premier League 2 goal for the U21s on Friday night, Emeka Adiele earned his side a penalty after being brought down in the box. Sowunmi calmly converted to level the score. Just after the restart, captain Preston Fearon nearly put West Ham ahead. Winning possession in midfield, he led a charge forward and unleashed a shot from outside the box that clipped the outside of the post.

After half-time, West Ham controlled possession, with their skillful wingers keeping Arsenal’s defenders on their toes. However, against the run of play, Andre Annous restored Arsenal’s lead just before the hour mark. Just when it looked like the Gunners would comfortably close out the game, the Hammers set up a tense finale. Despite their significant height advantage in the box, Hargan put the Hammers within one as he headed home a dinked ball from Fearon. Despite the unrelenting pressure on Arsenal’s goal, the Gunners would hold on to take all three points.