MATCHDAY LIVE: Swindon Town v Arsenal Under-21s

FULL-TIME: Arsenal get the bonus point on penalties.

James Sweet sends Ward the wrong way and Arsenal win.

[5-4]

Brooklyn Genesini coverts. Swindon need Arsenal to miss.

[4-4]

Ethan Nwaneri blasts his penalty home.

[3-4]

Benn Ward has his saved.

[3-3]

Khayon Edwards tucks it beyond the dive of Ward.

[3-3]

Shade sends Hein the wrong way. [3-2]

Cozier-Duberry puts home expertly.

[2-2]

Wakeling thunders one home.

[2-1]

Flores sends Ward the wrong way.

[1-1]

Jake Cain buries it.

[1-0]

There are no fans at either end, but some fool decided they will be shooting towards the Stratton Bank. Jake Cain to take first.

FULL-TIME: Swindon 2 Arsenal U21s 2. We are going to penalties for a bonus point.

93- Arsenal should have won it. Nwaneri's free-kick dips in front of Ward and he spills it to Edwards and he skied it over the bar from six yards out unopposed. The referee gave a corner to spare his blushes. 2-2.

92- Arsenal have a free-kick in an identical position to where Wrexham got their equaliser at the weekend. 2-2.

90- There will be six more minutes for someone to stop there being a penalty shoot-out. 2-2.

88- The Arsenal onslaught has continued here. There has been very little offered by Town in this second half. 2-2.

82- This had very much been coming. James Sweet made a great run round the back and cut the ball back to Jimi Gower to turn into the far corner of the net. 2-2.

Goal. Swindon 2 Arsenal U21s 2 (Gower 82')

74- Now that Sagoe Jr. has been taken off, I expect Flynn to be convincing him to join for the rest of the match. 2-1.

72- OFF: Kanu; Butler-Oyedeji, Sagoe Jr.

ON: Obodo; Edwards, Flores

Kanu has ran his little socks off tonight

72- The attendance this evening is 3,352. 2-1.

69- Minturn does it again! Ward is again beaten by Butler-Oyedeji, he plays the ball to Sagoe Jr. and as he wheeled away to celebrate, Minturn threw himself back to make the goal saving block. 2-1.

67- OFF: Uwakwe

ON: Shade

66- OFF: Ibrahim; Brown

ON: Gower; Dworzak

65- Arsenal should equalise. Kinsella lost the ball to Cozier-Duberry, he ran through two v one and slipped in Butler-Oyedeji, but his shot was straight down the throat of Ward. 2-1.

64- Brilliant work from Abu Kanu. The youngster does really well to win the ball back on the halfway line and with no support has to plough a lone furrow with three defenders around him. He eventually finds space in the box and has a shot deflected wide. 2-1.

62- One of the Arsenal coaches has been booked for moaning. 2-1.

60- Fair play to Cain. He just had a go from a free-kick that was at least 35 yards out. He got it on target, but it was a fairly comfortable save for Hein. 2-1.

59- Ibrahim gets booked, but I am not totally sure what for. 2-1.

55- Booking for Benn Ward for shoving down Cozier-Duberry. 2-1.

52- The only bright spot of tonight is that Uwakwe has shown he is clearly the best of the left wing-back options. 2-1.

51- Arsenal have started the brighter once again. This time Nwaneri has space outside the area and calls Ward into action with a low drive. 2-1.

50- Sagoe Jr. shows his quality again. He receives the ball out wide and charges into the middle before letting a shot fly, which Ward saves well at his near post.

It might be worth asking if Sagoe Jr. is available for loan. 2-1.

47- Uwakwe again causing trouble. He bursts down the left and uses the overlap from Ward to get in a cross that bounces across the face of goal. 2-1.

46- Straight away in this half, Benn Ward was out-muscled by a man a foot shorter than him. 2-1.

45- Nathan Butler-Oyedeji gets us back underway for the second half. 2-1.

The players are coming back out. Here is hoping this is as ridiculous as the first half was.

It would be interesting to hear what Michael Flynn is saying at half-time here. He previously stated he didn't care about this competition, but the frequent, major errors from his side must have had him pulling what hair he has out. Were this a league game you would be able to hear the rage from the press box.

It is a half-time lead for Swindon, but they have not been particularly good value for it. Arsenal have controlled the half, but were unable to capitalise on a litany of errors from Swindon. Whereas at the other end Town have been rather clinical and made the most of opportunities which have been handed to them.

HALF-TIME: Swindon Town 2 Arsenal U21s 1

47- Bradley Ibrahim shows off some impressive close control to weave beyond two defenders in the area, before Benn Ward clears the ball off his toes and out for a throw-in. 2-1.

45- Four minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half. 2-1.

43- Arsenal again go close again. Cozier-Duberry cuts in on his right foot and whips a shot just over the bar. 2-1.

39- KINSELLA OFF THE LINE. Hart let a pass run and allowed Sageo Jr. in behind him, but Ward rushed out to make a big save. Arsenal got the ball back and Butler-Oyedeji had a free shot at goal which Kinsella got back to clear off the line. Both teams making mind bottling errors at the back. 2-1.

37- Keep in mind here folks that Arsenal have been by far the better team. They have dominated the play and aside from Wakeling and Uwakwe no one wearing red has made any kind of impression. However, they have capitalised on two errors and find themselves in the lead. 1-1.

34- Oh my. Against the run of play again, but Hein received the ball on his goal line and attempted to dribble round Uwakwe, he was promptly dispossessed and the former-Chelsea man had the simplest of tasks to roll the ball into an empty net. 2-1.

GOAL. Swindon 2 (Uwakwe '34) Arsenal U21s 1

31- Ward called into action. Cozier-Duberry turns on the edge of the area and looks to curl the ball into the far corner, but Wards gets across and pushes the ball wide for a corner. 1-1.

26- Ward gets very lucky. He receives a comfortable back pass, but spends so long waiting for it that Sagoe Jr. nips in and deflects the pass to a yellow shirt. As the ball comes back to Sageo Jr., he is flagged offside and Town's old/new signing is let off the hook. 1-1.

24- Still some sleepy boys on the right side for Town. Sagoe Jr again gets behind, this time beyond Minturn, and has his shot blocked behind for a corner. 1-1.

23- Ibrahim was so gutted that Minturn denied him, that he went down injured and is now waiting the mandatory 30 seconds to come back on. 1-1.

22- Harrison Minturn you beauty. Bradley Ibrahim surges straight through the middle of the Town defence and rounds Ward. He looked to tuck the ball into an empty net, but Minturn was there to hook the ball off the line. 1-1.

19- Arsenal have been the better side so far in this game. They have generally moved the ball well and controlled the game, but Wakeling has looked lively and this has caused them problems on the break. 1-1.

14- Stunning save. Uwakwe is given space on the left and delivers a cross to the unmarked Wakeling and his header forces Karl Hein to be at full stretch to tip it wide. 1-1.

11- Arsenal quickly restore parity as a corner is swung into the middle and almost unopposed Lino Sousa nods into the far corner of the net. 1-1.

GOAL. Swindon 1 Arsenal U21s 1 (Sousa 11')

8- Wakeling nearly makes it two. Cain finds the striker on the edge of the area and he cuts onto his strongest foot and whips a shot just wide of the top corner. 1-0.

6- Bare with us a little bit as we don't have any team sheets. Wakeling has created that goal all by himself, nicking the ball off a defender in his own half and then driving all the way to the by-line before his cross was comically turned in at the back post by Walters. 1-0.

GOAL. Swindon 1 (Walters OG 6') Arsenal U21s 0

5- Ward very quickly making me remember my reservations about him. He shanked a five yard pass out for an Arsenal throw. 0-0.

2- Arsenal have the ball in the net already, but it is ruled out for offside. Town touched the ball once prior to this as a long passing move saw Arsenal catch Genesini sleeping, but Sagoe Jr. went too early. 0-0.

KICK-OFF: We are underway at the County Ground in the EFL Trophy.

The mascot walking out with Sonny Hart is the same height as him. It does not appear to be a stag-do gag, so this should tell you what you need to know about the size of this Swindon team.

The players are making their way out here at the County Ground.

It is tough to know what to expect from Arsenal tonight. The only player in their team I am aware of is Ethan Nwaneri, but he made his Premier League debut last season aged 15 and scored a hat-trick on Friday night.

Tom Clayton is in attendance today. He does not appear to be on crutches any more, so that is a positive sign for him.

You would imagine this game will be a lot about fitness for Michael Flynn. The three different players who have played left wing-back all start tonight and have all been mentioned as needing match sharpness. Uwakwe in particular has come in to be the starter, but is clearly not in a position to do that yet and tonight is a good chance to get closer to the level of fitness required.

Brooklyn Genesini is the only player to survive the stoppage time collapse at Wrexham three days ago. Flynn sending a clear message to his starters that he demands more from them. Five teenagers come into the starting line-up for tonight's game.

Arsenal U21s XI:

Hein, Sweet, Walters, Monlouis, Sousa, Ibrahim, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Cozier-Duberry, Sagoe Jr., Butler-Oyedeji

Subs: Ejeheri, Foran, Rosiak, Gower, Flores, Kamara, Edwards

Swindon Town XI:

Ward; B.Ward, Hart, Minturn; Genesini, Cain, Kinsella, Brown, Uwakwe; Wakeling, Kanu

Subs: Brann, Dworzak, Shade, Hunt, Obodo, Keyes, Adams

We will be waiting with bated breath (or rather a mild intrigue) for whether Lewis Ward is eligible for this evening and then if he will be straight into the team. It is one of many fun surprises in store this evening.

Good afternoon everyone. After the rollercoaster of the weekend, we are into some slightly lower stakes action as the EFL Trophy gets going once again. Arsenal under-21s are in town and both teams are a complete mystery.