Arsenal U18 boss Kwame Ampadu has been talking ahead of his talented youngsters taking on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final Read on for his views.

Kwame Ampadu:

On how proud he is of the lads

I’m absolutely delighted for them. We said to them at the start of the season that it was going to be about hard work, togetherness, unity and also them pushing each other every single day in training to improve as individuals and collectively. In fairness to them, they have been brilliant for the most part. The attitude and response has been fantastic.

On what the mood in the camp has been like:

The lads have actually been quite relaxed. We trained again today and it seemed like there was more of a good anticipation about them, within the group. They seemed like they’re forward to it.

On the benchmark performance so far:

I think the spirit that they showed at Anfield, for them to come from behind in a very tough game against a very tough team. To go behind in that game and then show the spirit and the fight in that game to comeback, to turn around and beat them at Anfield, I thought that was an excellent game. They’ve also had good tests for different reasons, but that game probably stands out.

On the Blackpool pitch being a tough test:

Back at the Emirates, obviously we had a better surface and you could see the difference in quality. We were able to move the ball around a lot quicker and that suited us.