Daniel Casey scored for the Gunners in the 2-1 loss.
“It was a really entertaining game and we were really pleased with a lot of the first year and second year scholars to step up and play at this level so early on,” Ali told arsenal.com. “There were lots of positives from this evening.
“I thought we controlled the game really well. They were a back five in the first half and there wasn’t a lot of space in behind them. We could’ve been better having shots from in front. You make one sloppy mistake and they capitalised on it.
“But credit to our second half team. They changed, went to a four and there was more space in between the lines and our boys exploited that really well. We had opportunities to score goals and we didn’t take them, but I thought it was a good game.
“We conceded from a throw-in and then Dan Casey scored a great goal, so overall lots of positives. It’s a shame to lose, but we’re really pleased with a lot of the work that we’ve done in pre-season from under-18s and 21s to put on the performanc that the boys did tonight.”