Porter "can't fault" attitude of U21s despite loss

Max Porter praised the work rate and attitude of our under-21s as our five-match unbeaten run came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Ipswich.

The Tractor Boys took the lead in the 18th minute and despite our near-constant pressure until the end of the game, the visitors held out to take all three points.

“I thought it was a tough game,” Max said after the game, “fair play to Ipswich, they’ve been one of the better teams in PL2 this year. Like most teams at the moment, older than us, we’ve got a very young team.

“I thought we gave everything, I thought we went right to the end. We were a bit disappointed with how we played in the first half; on our press we didn’t all go together, when you don’t go together it doesn't matter what the press is, it’s not going to work.

“Then I thought second half we were much better, but unfortunately it was a very tight game and we didn’t create enough, so I think that’s probably the next step for this team, can we get back to what we did on Monday against Ready and hopefully create more chances.

“Obviously Monday was a very good performance, tonight not to that same level, but I can’t fault the team’s attitude, the work rate and the commitment they’re giving at the moment.”

As much as our young Gunners will be disappointed to see their positive run come to an end, our under-21s head coach was keen to point out that his team had done well to get into such a strong position after a difficult start to 2026.

“That’s what we just said to the players, we had a real set back across the whole phase, under-18s against City and us against Liverpool, and we had to say look, this is where if you want a career in the senior environment, you have to respond, and you have to go on a run.

“We did that, and we’ve done that with a young team, which has been brilliant. We’ve not always played well in that (run) so we’re not going to get too high because when we did play well, and we got results, we also said we’ve got to get better.

“Tonight, we’ve lost, so we’re going to stay calm, and the challenge now is next week, we play Norwich, we’ve got to respond. We want to get a result and the challenge to the players is we need to go on another run.

“If we do that we’re going to finish the season really strongly.”

While Max was disappointed to see our unbeaten run come to an end, he noted that there were positives to take from the game.

“I think any player wants to win games, and any player wants to be in those games at the end of the season that are exciting, and there’s something on it.

“For development for our players, we want that, so part of the message we just said there as staff was let’s go on a run now, let’s finish as high as we can.

“We’ve only lost two games this season at home in the PL2, one of them was obviously the first game of the season against Fulham and then now. So we’ve done pretty well here.

“So I think the challenge can be, and the opportunity, win as many games as possible, go on another run, try and finish in the top eight. That gives you a home tie, and then we fancy ourselves against anyone if that’s the case.”

Another positive to come from tonight was the return of Max Dowman after his spell on the sidelines.

Max featured in a competitive game for the first time in 2026, playing 45 minutes for Max Porter’s side, and experienced an injury recovery for the first time in senior football.

“Max, he’s always been a player that’s been kicked,” Porter said on the injury, “It was a very bad tackle unfortunately in the game against Manchester United that led to it, so this is, like you said, it’s a bit of a journey for him, understanding his body, going through a rehab process.

“Hopefully also it gives him that little bit of fire that when you are missing football, how much you want to get back out there and how much you appreciate it, which knowing Max, I’m sure it will.”

With Max back in action for our under-21s, Porter feels that the midfielder will only push on and get stronger as he looks to return to first team action in the coming weeks.

“I think tonight you saw that he needed minutes, and he’ll only get stronger from here, going through this now will be nothing but hopefully a really good moment for his development even though he’s missed football.

“So yeah, we’re glad to have Max back, hopefully he can push and if he needs minutes with us, great, if not hopefully he can contribute to the first team in a really exciting finish to the season.”

Click here to read article