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.
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.
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
1 Waford v Oxford United
2 Millwall v Hull City
3 Leyton Orient or Whitehawk v AFC Fylde or Northampton Town
4 Hertford Town or Bristol Rovers v Arsenal
5 AFC Bournemouth v Ipswich Town
6 Harrogate Town or Birmingham City v West Bromwich Albion
7 Queens Park Rangers v Gillingham or Swindon Town
8 Derby County v Sunderland
9 Burton Albion or Notts County v Fulham
10 Leicester City v Chelsea
11 Stoke City v Bromley or Rising Ballers Kensington
12 Cardiff City v Chesterfield or Shrewsbury Town
13 Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday
14 Portsmouth v Leeds United
15 Eastleigh or AFC Wimbledon v Wolverhampton Wanderers
16 Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough
17 Norwich City v Brentford
18 Fleetwood Town or Tamworth v Burnley
19 Aston Villa v Accrington Stanley or Blyth Spartans
20 Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers
21 Merstham or Forest Green Rovers v Burgess Hill Town or Colchester United
22 Luton Town v Crewe Alexandra or Blackpool
23 Grimsby Town or Salford City v West Ham United
24 Everton v Nottingham Forest
25 Preston North End v Liverpool
26 Manchester United v Coventry City
27 Swansea City v Southampton
28 Stevenage or Cheltenham Town v Exeter City or AFC Dunstable
29 Manchester City v Crystal Palace
30 Bolton Wanderers or Lincoln City v Wrexham
31 Carlisle United v Plymouth Argyle
32 Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion
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