Under-21 team (previously reserve team) Early years (1887–1919) Since Arsenal were based in
Plumstead as Royal Arsenal F.C., they had a reserve side which was at first set up in 1887. The club initially played friendlies and cup competitions, winning the
1889–90 Kent Junior Cup. In
1895–96, the club which was renamed Woolwich Arsenal in 1891, had their reserves join the
Kent League, winning the title the next season but leaving circa 1900. They later joined the
London League where they won three titles during the 1900s. From
1900–01 to
1902–03, the reserves played in the
West Kent League, winning the league title in every season they featured within such. For the
1926–27 season, the competition was expanded to include teams as far afield as Portsmouth, Swansea, Southend and Leicester. During the inter-war period Arsenal's reserves matched the first team's success, winning the League South A title of 1940 and 1943 as well as being the London league champions of 1942. To give opportunities to younger players, Arsenal created an 'A' team in 1929. Initially the 'A' team entered the London Professional Mid-Week League and were champions in
1931–32. They then competed in the league until the
1933–34 footballing season. Wherein, during the summer of 1934, Arsenal had taken on Kent side
Margate as their nursery team. Arsenal had agreed to send promising youngsters to Margate to give them experience in the
Southern Football League and were given first choice on any Margate players. The two clubs thus enjoyed being within this relationship which had lasted for four years before Arsenal broke it off in 1938. Afterwards, Arsenal entered the reserve team in the Southern League in its own right with home games being played at
Enfield F.C.'s stadium at
Southbury Road. The club eventually finished in 6th place in the
league season of 1938–39. At the start of the 1939–40 season the reserves played two Football Combination games and one Southern League game before football was partly suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War. but continued to play in the East Anglian Cup for the next two seasons. In addition, the 'A' team was also entered in the London Professional Mid-Week League from
1949–50 to
1957–58, winning a second time in
1952–53. During the summer of 1958, the 'A' team was entered into the
Metropolitan League, Metropolitan League Cup and Metropolitan League Professional Cup. This proved a very successful venture until the mid-1960s. Towards the end of the 1960s, the 'A' team struggled against strong amateur teams and the club declined to enter a team after the close of the
1968–69 season.
1999–present In 1999 they left the Combination to become founding members of the
Premier Reserve League. They never won the competition, although they did finish as runners-up in the
2001–02 and 2010–11 seasons. At the end of the
2011–12 season they finished 3rd in Reserve League South, in what would be the competition's final season. Players from the reserve team have also been used extensively in the
League Cup since the
1997–98 season. At the beginning of the
2012–13 season Arsenal's reserve and academy structure received a major overhaul. The reserve team left the
Premier Reserve League and joined the
Professional Development League for the competition's inaugural season. Fundamentally, replacing the reserves with an Under-21 team that has the allowance of three over-age outfield players and one goalkeeper per match day. At the beginning of the
2014–15 season Arsenal's academy coaching structure received a major change with
Andries Jonker being appointed as head of academy on 1 July 2014, along with several key changes with in key coaching roles throughout the academy. In his time in charge of the academy, he instigated many changes, such as changes to the way the players were educated within the club, therefore helping them spend more time on site with their fellow players. He was also a key part in the new Hale End facility being built, with three pitches for the academy teams to make use of. In 2016 with the rebranding of the
Premier League the reserve team continued to play in the
Professional Development League, but it would now be named the Premier League 2. On 27 February 2017, it was announced the Andries Jonker would leave his role as head of academy to join
VfL Wolfsburg as head coach, alongside former Arsenal player
Freddie Ljungberg as assistant coach.
Academy (previously Youth) Arsenal Youth (1954–1998) Arsenal have occasionally operated a youth team as far back as
1893–94, and there had been an established third team known as Arsenal 'A' for young players from 1929 to 1969. The club have played in the
FA Youth Cup since the
1954–55 season and then entered into the
South East Counties Youth Football League simultaneously. The following season the league competition was renamed as the South East Counties League. Arsenal also featured from
1955 into another tournament known as the South East Counties League Cup wherein they stayed within while excluding the
1968 and
1969 seasons to the
1997–98 English footballing season. Arsenal's Academy altogether was victorious in the Counties League in 1956, 1965, 1972 and 1991. Arsenal's youths also played in the London Minor FA Challenge Cup from
1955 to
1956. In
1960 they rejoined the competition where they stayed until
1967 and was also successful in the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup which they won in
1956,
1972,
1975 and
1999. Arsenal thus became, of youth teams in the country, the winners of seven South East Counties League titles and six South East Counties League Cups of which included three "doubles". and got to the quarterfinals of the newly created
UEFA Youth League in
2014. In 2016, Arsenal's U21s won the semifinal of the
Professional Development League's Division 2 playoffs 2–1 against
Blackburn Rovers. In the final Arsenal beat
Aston Villa by 3 goals to 1 at the
Emirates Stadium so as to become playoff champions. In April 2017, Arsenal's Under 13 team defeated
Sunderland to lift the inaugural Premier League National Cup as champions. As well, in June 2017, Arsenal's Under-14s won the 2016-17
Premier League Albert Phelan Cup. On 7 July 2017, it was announced that
Per Mertesacker, who retired from football at the end of the 2017–18 season, would take up the role of Arsenal Academy's manager thereafter. ==Current squad==