Barclays U21 Premier League 2016: Thursday Scores, Latest Standings and Fixtures
Jack Wilshere set up Arsenal's goal, but he and Tomas Rosicky could not help the Gunners' under-21 side avoid defeat to Swansea City, as they were downed 3-1 by the Welsh outfit at Landore, Wales, on Thursday.
Wilshere has been out of senior action for the entire season but made his second appearance for the youth side in less than a week against the Swans to indicate he may be nearing a return to the first-team.
Swansea's victory came courtesy of first-half goals from Adam King and Kenji Gorre, and a second half strike from Alex Bray after Serge Gnabry's Wilshere-assisted strike had given the visitors hope of a comeback. Arsenal now need to claim victory in their final match of the season to seal the Division 2 title.
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Thursday's other Premier League under-21 clash between Liverpool and Manchester City was postponed.
| Home | Result | Away |
| Swansea City | 3-1 | Arsenal |
| Manchester City | Postponed | Liverpool |
| Date | Time (BST) | Fixture |
| April 18 | 2 p.m. | Swansea City vs. Fulham |
| April 18 | 7 p.m. | Arsenal vs. West Bromwich Albion |
| April 18 | 7 p.m. | Blackburn Rovers vs. Aston Villa |
| April 18 | 7 p.m. | Everton vs. Manchester City |
| April 18 | 7 p.m. | Leicester City vs. Chelsea |
| April 18 | 7 p.m. | Southampton vs. Norwich City |
| 1 | Sunderland U21 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 20 | 18 | 43 |
| 2 | Man Utd U21 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 15 | 24 | 42 |
| 3 | Man City U21 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 31 |
| 4 | Everton U21 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 26 | 5 | 30 |
| 5 | Spurs U21 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 42 | 40 | 2 | 27 |
| 6 | Reading U21 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 34 | 40 | -6 | 27 |
| 7 | Chelsea U21 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 26 |
| 8 | Liverpool U21 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 34 | -10 | 25 |
| 9 | Southampton U21 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 37 | -3 | 24 |
| 10 | Middlesbrough U21 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 32 | 34 | -2 | 20 |
| 11 | Norwich U21 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 45 | -18 | 19 |
| 12 | Leicester U21 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 45 | -24 | 18 |
| 1 | Derby County U21 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 42 |
| 2 | Arsenal U21 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 40 |
| 3 | Aston Villa U21 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 38 |
| 4 | Swansea City U21 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 39 | 24 | +15 | 36 |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers U21 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 27 | 31 | -4 | 33 |
| 6 | West Ham United U21 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 32 |
| 7 | Stoke City U21 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 24 | +0 | 32 |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion U21 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 30 |
| 9 | Fulham U21 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 19 |
| 10 | Newcastle United U21 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 48 | -18 | 18 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 36 | -19 | 4 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton U21 | 22 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 13 |
Recap
Both clubs revealed their starting lineups ahead of kick-off:
The Gunners started the brighter, and Gnabry forced a decent early save from Josh Vickers with a stinging shot from the edge of the box.
The Swans goalkeeper was forced into action again moments later as he clawed away Kaylen Hinds' effort from close range.
Swansea built into the game, though, and almost went ahead in the 14th minute when Joe Rodon's header struck the crossbar.
Two minutes later, the hosts were 1-0 up as King's header found the back of the net, per Swansea's Twitter feed:
King almost doubled his tally later in the half but was denied on the line by Arsenal goalkeeper Matthew Macey.
Tafari Moore then squandered an opportunity for the visitors as he dragged a shot wide from only a few yards out before Gorre made it 2-0 to Swansea with a fine finish.
The Dutchman curled a brilliant effort home on the turn in the 36th minute having received the ball with his back to goal.
Hinds and Wilshere both fashioned further chances in the first half, but Arsenal went into the break trailing 2-0.
The Gunners upped the intensity when they returned for the second half and forced two good saves from Vickers in the opening 10 minutes, while Macey was also kept busy by efforts from Bray, Gorre and Dan James.
However, there was to be no goal in the second half until Gnabry pulled one back for the Gunners 12 minutes from time with a clipped finish into the top corner.
Fed by Wilshere in the inside-left channel, the German fired home in fine fashion to give Arsenal a sniff of a comeback.
But Bray then put the game to bed in the 80th minute as he pounced on a loose ball in the box before finding the back of the net.
Thursday's other scheduled match between Liverpool and City was postponed. The Reds have all but locked up their spot in Group 1 for next season, but they'll have to find the one point they still need to ensure survival some other time.
