Not since the days of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick at the end of the last century have West Ham been able to lay claim to having the best youth team in the country, but an emphatic 5-1 victory against Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup final showed that the future could be very bright in east London.
With Declan Rice and Mark Noble watching on from the stands, a sensational chip from nearly 40 yards out from the captain, Gideon Kodua, plus goals from George Earthy, Callum Marshall, Kaelan Casey and the substitute Josh Briggs rounded off a stirring comeback after Omari Benjamin had given Jack Wilshere’s Arsenal an early lead. More than 8,000 fans in the away end celebrated raucously when Kodua lifted the trophy after the full-time whistle.
