Barclays U21 Premier League 2016: Friday Result, Latest Standings and Schedule

Jack Wilshere made his long-awaited return to action for Arsenal’s under-21 side on Friday evening, helping the team to a 3-1 win over Newcastle United. 

The midfielder, who started alongside Tomas Rosicky and Serge Gnabry, played 65 minutes in the contest at the Emirates Stadium. 

First-half goals from Dan Crowley, Stephy Mavididi and Gnabry gave Arsenal a 3-1 lead before half-time, with an own goal from Krystian Bielik seeing the visitors get on the scoresheet. The win sees the Londoners jump up to the second spot in Division 2, leaving them five points behind leaders Derby County with two games in hand.

Here’s a look at how things panned out on what was an encouraging night for the Gunners fans and how the league standings are shaping up in the wake of this result.

Division 1	Team	MP	W	D	L	F	A	D	P
Division 2	Team	MP	W	D	L	F	A	D	P
1	Sunderland U21	21	13	4	4	37	17	+20	43
2	Manchester United U21	18	12	3	3	38	15	+23	39
3	Manchester City U21	18	8	4	6	30	24	+6	28
4	Everton U21	18	7	6	5	29	26	+3	27
5	Reading U21	21	7	6	8	34	37	-3	27
6	Chelsea U21	16	7	5	4	30	23	+7	26
7	Liverpool U21	20	7	4	9	24	34	-10	25
8	Tottenham U21	20	6	6	8	39	39	+0	24
9	Southampton U21	20	6	6	8	34	37	-3	24
10	Middlesbrough U21	20	5	5	10	32	33	-1	20
11	Leicester City U21	19	5	3	11	21	44	-23	18
12	Norwich City U21	19	4	4	11	26	45	-19	16
1	Derby County U21	21	13	3	5	43	24	+19	42
2	Arsenal U21	19	11	4	4	36	19	+17	37
3	Aston Villa U21	20	10	5	5	23	23	+0	35
4	West Ham Unite…	21	9	5	7	35	31	+4	32
5	Stoke City U21	21	10	2	9	23	22	+1	32
6	Swansea City U21	19	9	3	7	34	22	+12	30
7	West Brom U21	20	7	9	4	21	17	+4	30
8	Blackburn Rovers U21	20	9	3	8	25	30	-5	30
9	Fulham U21	20	7	5	8	23	26	-3	26
10	Newcastle United U21	21	4	6	11	29	44	-15	18
11	Wolverhampton U21	21	2	7	12	20	32	-12	13
12	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	21	1	8	12	13	35	-22	11

Division 1 Fixture	Date	Time (BST)
Division 2 Fixture	Date	Time (BST)
Leicester City U21 vs. Norwich City U21	Monday, April 11	2 p.m.
Everton U21 vs. Chelsea U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Manchester United U21 vs. Middlesbrough U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Reading U21 vs. Manchester City U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Tottenham Hotspur U21 vs. Sunderland U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Stoke City U21 vs. Swansea City U21	Saturday, April 9	2 p.m.
Aston Villa U21 vs. West Ham United U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Blackburn Rovers U21 vs. West Brom U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Newcastle United U21 vs. Brighton & Hove Albion	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.
Derby County U21 vs. Arsenal U21	Monday, April 11	7 p.m.

Wilshere, Rosicky in Action for the Gunners

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

With Wilshere having not played a minute of competitive football all season for Arsenal, the supporters at the Emirates Stadium would have been delighted to have seen him don the club colours again.

The Arsenal Twitter feed was keen to show off the fact that the 24-year-old was back on the field too, posting this clip of the England international preparing for the game:

Wilshere’s team-mate Mesut Ozil posted the following ahead of the clash, suggesting he’d be keeping a close eye on this one:

Some of Arsenal’s other bright young stars stole the show in the early stages of this match, though, racing into a two-goal lead inside the opening eight minutes.

Crowley, who spent a spell on loan at Barnsley earlier in the campaign, broke the deadlock in the seventh minute with a superb goal. The 18-year-old latched onto a pass in the penalty area, feinted to shoot twice to evade two defenders and then finished calmly into the corner.

The AFCPressWatch feed provided footage of the eye-catching opener:

"

Dan Crowley's goal. pic.twitter.com/DNGcWpSy7W

— AFCPressWatch™ (@AFCPressWatch) April 8, 2016"

Within seconds, Arsenal doubled the lead. Mavididi made a darting run when Rosicky picked the ball up with space to run into, and the Czech Republic international found the 17-year-old with an inch-perfect pass; he made no mistake with a low left-footed finish.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

The visitors were stunned at this juncture, with little experience in the XI. But Newcastle got a stroke of fortune after 27 minutes, when a stretching Bielik could only turn a dangerous cross from Owen Gallacher past Matt Macey.

Newcastle's momentum didn’t last too long, though, as Arsenal moved through the gears again just seven minutes later.

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

Wilshere, as busy as ever in the first 45 minutes, was involved in the move as the Gunners swept forward on the break. Jeff Reine-Adelaide played in Gnabry, who finished emphatically with his left foot from the corner of the box. Here’s a look at what was another exceptional goal from Arsenal:

"

Serge Gnabry's goal pic.twitter.com/9p71RqBxYi

— AFCPressWatch™ (@AFCPressWatch) April 8, 2016"

When the second half began, Newcastle had a mountain to climb, especially with the England international growing into the game, per ESPN FC’s Mattias Karen:

After a typical burst forward and a clever pass, Wilshere was withdrawn in the 65th minute, and those inside the Emirates must have been pleased with what they had witnessed.

With both of their main playmakers off the field—Rosicky was withdrawn at half-time—the Gunners did struggle to exert the same dominance in the latter stages. But there was little threat from the visitors, who will have been disappointed with their display despite the quality of opposition they were up against.

Wilshere was bright, inventive and industrious on his return. There’s been a lot of talk about him in the press for off-pitch reasons as of late, and while those issues will remain a concern for some, it was encouraging to see this undeniable talent back on the field and performing well.

It may be too late for Wilshere to alter the course of Arsenal’s season, as the team looks likely to end up without silverware barring a miraculous turnaround in the Premier League. Nevertheless, the England international will want to prove his fitness ahead of Euro 2016 and give national team manager Roy Hodgson a difficult decision to make.