When Manchester United's Under-21s played Monaco in November, a French journalist in the press box recommended keeping an eye on 17-year-old Eliesse Ben Seghir, who had built a reputation as a supremely exciting prospect in his country.
Ben Seghir was kept quiet under the floodlights at Old Trafford, but a few weeks later, he scored a stunning brace on his Ligue 1 debut for Monaco's first-team and showed the beauty of attending such academy fixtures: gems can be unearthed.
On Friday night, a new generation of youngsters, Jack Kingdon, Elyh Harrison, Louis Jackson and Ethan Williams, were chosen to make the next step in their careers, as they were given their full debuts for United's U21s in the Premier League 2 against Arsenal. ALSO READ: Man United give update on Marcus Rashford fitness and future As a result of the fixture coming after the international break, injuries in the first-team and Casemiro's suspension, Mark Dempsey was without key players and picked a youthful side to play Arsenal, who fielded a strong team for their visit to Old Trafford.
Kobbie Mainoo and Zidane Iqbal, who regularly provide quality, composure and verve in the midfield for the U21s, were absent from the squad, as they're set to be with the first-team against Newcastle at St James' Park on Sunday.