Watch match highlights from Ipswich Town’s 2-1 home loss to Arsenal’s Under 21s.

The Blues let a lead slip as they were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal’s Under 21s in their EFL Trophy opener.

Jon Nolan had given the Blues a lead in a first-half they largely controlled at Portman Road but the young Gunners, with an average age of just 18 years and six months, battled back and took victory thanks to strikes from George Lewis and Flo Balogun.

At their best, Ipswich bossed possession against their young opponents and looked to have far more of a cutting edge, as Andre Dozzell and his excellent range of passing drove Paul Lambert’s men forward in the opening period.

But at their worst they struggled to maintain the high tempo with which they began the contest and allowed proceedings to drift, making it hard for them to move up through the gears when in search of a leveller.

They came close to finding one, with Alan Judge having a head saved, substitute Emyr Huws rattling the underside of the bar and James Norwood having one cleared off the line, but it never came as Lambert’s main failed to back up Saturday’s victory over Bristol Rovers.