Man United are set to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup but Chido Obi will not be involved.
Chido Obi will not be involved in Manchester United’s game against Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals.
Obi was an unused substitute in Ruben Amorim’s squad against Ipswich Town on Wednesday night and the decision has been made to keep him in Manchester for the sake of the first-team.
Amorim’s options have been depleted by injuries and Obi is set to be included in the first-team squad against Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round. The youngster has been kept back to help United prepare for that fixture and he could make another appearance from the bench on Sunday.
Obi was given his senior debut against Tottenham earlier this month and the youngster replaced Rasmus Hojlund with 20 minutes remaining against Everton at Goodison Park last weekend.
The decision to keep Obi around the first-team is undoubtedly a blow for the Under-18s, who have have cruised past Coventry City, Preston North End and Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup so far.
Obi has seven goals in the Youth Cup this term, which is the same number as Alejandro Garnacho managed when United last won the trophy, and he netted a hat-trick in the last round.
U18 boss Adam Lawrence praised Obi after the Chelsea victory and said: “It was a really good night for both of the goalscorers [Obi and Scanlon]. I thought the two of them had really good performances on the whole aside from the goals. Obviously, Chido’s a natural goalscorer.
“He wants to score goals and get himself into those positions, but I was really pleased with him just in terms of his link-up play — not just stretching and running in behind but recognising when to show into feet, how to use his body to shield the ball and when to bring others into play.”
The absence of Obi suggests Gabriele Biancheri, who has scored 16 goals in 22 appearances this season, will lead the attack for the U18s in their clash against Arsenal at the Emirates.
