Mehmet Ali reflects on Sunderland defeat & 2024

Mehmet Ali shared his thoughts following our 2-1 loss to Sunderland in the Premier League 2 on Monday night

Goals on either side of half-time from Tymer Tutierov and Marcus Neill secured all three points for the Black Cats. Nathan Butler-Oyedeji found the net for us, but it wasn’t enough to salvage a result in our last game of 2024.

On the performance against Sunderland:
“We were really poor in the first half, and we were disappointed with our performance. We didn’t find solutions well enough, but credit to Sunderland—they made it very difficult for us. They won more duels and showed more hunger than us in that first half.

“Having said that, the second half was much better—it looked like the Arsenal performance we expect. We got back into the game and made it 1-1. At that point, I felt we could have gone on to win, as we created more than enough chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t take those opportunities, and they took theirs to win the game. Overall, I don’t think we deserved to win.”

On the highlights of 2024:
“There’s been a lot of positives this year, including the younger players breaking through to the first team with Mikel. But we’ve still got some of the lads here who need to go and play men’s football, which is part of the process at Under-21s level.

“We always say this isn’t the final destination—this is a stepping stone where you work hard for your next opportunity. Over the last six months, these players have really pushed hard, and I wish them all the best as they move forward in their journeys. It’s all about building careers in the game, and nights like these are an important part of that development.”

On targets for 2025:
“At Arsenal, we’re always big on pushing our younger players, but it has to be deserved and warranted. We’re always in close communication with the Under-18s and Under-16s staff because we want the next generation to be pushing and breaking into Arsenal’s first team—that’s what this job is all about.

“I’m looking forward to helping the younger players push and develop, while also supporting the older ones as they progress in their journeys and careers.”