Arsenal Under-23s unbeaten start to the season came to an end with a 3-1 defeat to Premier League 2 leaders Chelsea Under-23s.
Ben Cottrell was on hand for Arsenal in the first-half with what was his first goal at Under-23 level.
Goals from Charlie Brown and Clinton Mola ensured the Blues stay top of the division as Steve Bould's side remain fourth in the table.
Ben Cottrell impressed
Making his step up to the Under-23s this season, Ben Cottrell continued to make his mark just behind Arsenal's frontline.
With Chelsea in control for most of the game, it was difficult in general for Arsenal to gain any real rhythm but the midfielder was the Gunners' shining light.
Dropping off into pockets just in front of the Chelsea defence, his passing range kept them guessing and created attacking opportunities for his side.
His awareness also stood out. Just before half-time, rather than just watching Flo Balogun take aim at Jamie Cumming's goal, he followed in. Luckily, Cumming parried the shot into his path and he halved the deficit going into the break.
In the second-half, he kept making off the ball runs beyond the Chelsea defence but these were well dealt with.
Just 17-years-old, his understanding for the game shouldn't be underestimated and it could see him go far under Steve Bould this season.
Pressure too much for Arsenal defence
With Thierno Ballo and Henry Lawrence manning the wings, Arsenal's defence struggled to cope out wide all night.
Time and again Chelsea were able to exploit them down the flanks both using over and under-lapping runs. An early yellow card to left-back Tolaji Bola didn't help Arsenal in this regard as the Blues began to target his side of the defence.
Arsenal were being dragged all over the pitch when out of possession without much chance of taking control of the game.
In these onslaughts, however, Dinos Mavropanos performed well. The 21-year-old's positioning throughout the game was good and he was able to cut out crosses and dangerous passes throughout the match.
Flo Balogun's persistence will be key
Flo Balogun came into this match as the Premier League 2 top goalscorer on seven goals but didn't add to that tally tonight.
Despite this, what was encouraging about his performance was that he kept persevering.
In the first-half, he realised that Chelsea's full-backs bombing forward opened up spaces either side of their centre-backs. He looked to take advantage and within the first 15 minutes, had two shots on goal.
Continuing to run into the channels, this led to Cottrell's goal before the break. The ball was slid between the right-back and centre-back, he drove into the space and shot with his left foot.
The shot was too hard for Cumming to handle and fell to Cottrell who finished well.
In the second-half, Balogun also showed great resolve, battling with Chelsea's centre-backs to keep possession but without much support his efforts didn't come to much.
