West Ham United extended their unbeaten start to the Barclays U18 Premier League season to eight games with a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at Little Heath on Saturday morning.
The hosts had the best chance to open the scoring in the opening 45 minutes when midfielder Marcus Browne saw his low shot cleared as it was heading into the net, before Arsenal striker Stephy Mavididi spurned several opportunities to steal the points for the visitors in the second period.
U18s manager Steve Potts made just one change to his team that defeated Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 the previous weekend, with centre-half Josh Pask returning to the side to replace Tunji Akinola.
Striker Jordan Brown lined up against his former club looking to score for the sixth consecutive league match, having only failed to net in the Hammers' opening two fixtures against West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City.
The opening ten minutes contained little action in front of goal. Both sides matched each other all over the pitch, with both defences standing strong to protect their goalkeepers.
It was Brown who was causing the most problems for the Gunners and he recorded the first shot on goal for either side after 17 minutes, but goalkeeper Ryan Huddart was in the right place to palm clear any danger.
Just a minute later and Browne had the best opportunity of the half when he latched onto a block in the penalty area from Brown's shot to fire towards the corner, only for an Arsenal defender to appear from nowhere to keep the ball out.
The Hammers' next opportunity came after 29 minutes, when defender Emmanual Onariase was inches away from getting a header onto a deep corner at the back post.
From then on, the game lacked notable chances in front of goal. Sam Howes easily caught Chris Willock's 22-yard free-kick, whilst Brown had a number of shots inside the Arsenal penalty area that were blocked by the visiting defenders.
After the break, Arsenal had a golden chance to go in front. From a cross on the left, striker Mavididi headed over from close range.
Sam Howes keeps a close eye on an Arsenal free-kick
With an hour on the clock, West Ham again launched an attack into the Gunners penalty area. After beating a defender inside the box, Djair Parfitt-Williams attempted to feed a cross into the middle, but Huddart stepped in to collect the ball.
On 74 minutes, Arsenal had another opportunity to score. Kaylen Hinds managed to get away in the Hammers penalty area and, after squaring for Mavididi to tap in at the back post, the striker managed to put it wide under pressure from Pask.
Mavididi again caused a problem to the Hammers back line four minutes later, but after sliding the ball past Howes, the ball traveled just past the post.
The final action of the game saw the hosts have two chances to grab a winner from corners. From the first, Parfitt-Williams failed to beat the man at the front post, before his second just evaded the head of Pask at the near upright.
West Ham stay in second position in the Barclays U18 Premier League after Saturday's draw with Arsenal, three points behind leaders Chelsea.
West Ham's next league fixture is a trip across London to face Fulham on Saturday 18 October. Kick-off is at 11am.
U18s: Howes, Pike, Pask, Onariase, Neufville, Browne, Sylvestre, Diangana (Bailey), Borg (Carter), Brown, Parfitt-Williams
Subs not used: Akinola, Parsons, Sheriff