Arsenal learn FA Youth Cup draw but could miss 3 star players | OneFootball

Arsenal have learned their FA Youth Cup third round draw, but the u18 side may be missing three of their best players in this season’s competition.

Photo via Arsenal.com

The FA Youth Cup third round draw was confirmed on Friday, though many second-round matches are still to be played, so a number of ties could still be against one of two different opponents.

That list includes Arsenal, with the Gunners facing either Hertford Town or Bristol Rovers, depending on the winner of their second-round clash on Tuesday, November 26th at 19:00 GMT.

Whichever team wins, Arsenal will be playing them away from home at some point between November 26th and the deadline for third-round ties on Saturday, December 14th.

Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images

So Arsenal know their two potential opponents, but it’s unclear which players will be involved for the young Gunners in the competition this season.

The two big question marks are around Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Both players are eligible, and they’re clearly two of the stars of Arsenal’s u18 age group. But if they have first-team responsibilities, those will likely take priority.

One other player who certainly won’t be involved is Max Dowman. Though 14-year-old Dowman has been very impressive for the Arsenal u18s this season, FA Youth Cup age restrictions mean he’s still too young to play in the competition. He’ll be eligible next year.

But other recent first-team debutants should be involved if fit, including Jack Porter and Ayden Heaven.

FA Youth Cup third-round draw in full

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

1 Waford v Oxford United2 Millwall v Hull City3 Leyton Orient or Whitehawk v AFC Fylde or Northampton Town4 Hertford Town or Bristol Rovers v Arsenal5 AFC Bournemouth v Ipswich Town6 Harrogate Town or Birmingham City v West Bromwich Albion7 Queens Park Rangers v Gillingham or Swindon Town8 Derby County v Sunderland9 Burton Albion or Notts County v Fulham10 Leicester City v Chelsea11 Stoke City v Bromley or Rising Ballers Kensington12 Cardiff City v Chesterfield or Shrewsbury Town13 Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday14 Portsmouth v Leeds United15 Eastleigh or AFC Wimbledon v Wolverhampton Wanderers16 Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough17 Norwich City v Brentford18 Fleetwood Town or Tamworth v Burnley19 Aston Villa v Accrington Stanley or Blyth Spartans20 Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers21 Merstham or Forest Green Rovers v Burgess Hill Town or Colchester United22 Luton Town v Crewe Alexandra or Blackpool23 Grimsby Town or Salford City v West Ham United24 Everton v Nottingham Forest25 Preston North End v Liverpool26 Manchester United v Coventry City27 Swansea City v Southampton28 Stevenage or Cheltenham Town v Exeter City or AFC Dunstable29 Manchester City v Crystal Palace30 Bolton Wanderers or Lincoln City v Wrexham31 Carlisle United v Plymouth Argyle32 Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion