Squad containing 15- and 16-year-olds will have stadium experience in FA Youth Cup tie against Manchester United

‘The players are on the floor in the changing room but youth football is never make or break,” Jack Wilshere reflected. “It’s important that they continue to develop but whether they can make it to the first team will be down to them.”

It has not been two years since Arsenal’s Under-18s were thrashed 5-1 by West Ham at the Emirates in the FA Youth Cup final but the former England midfielder’s prediction has come true. Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were two of the players who had to be consoled that night by their manager, Wilshere, and both are established as first-team regulars even though they are still eligible to play in the competition that has served as a springboard for so many young stars.