Crawley 0 Arsenal XI 1.

Former England and Arsenal defender Steve Bould has tipped Crawley to be a force in the Blue Square premier division this season.

Bould’s young Arsenal side edged past Reds in a pre-season friendly at Broadfield Stadium.

Bould, 45, won three League championships, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the FA Cup during almost 300 appearances for the Gunners, before taking over as under-18s academy coach at the Premier League club.

Bould, who also won two England caps, said: “I can see Crawley being right up there. I don’t know what their target is but I would have thought they will have a real chance.

“Looking at their other friendlies, they drew against the Crystal Palace first team and beat a young Spurs team so we knew it was going to be a tough game.

“It was a fabulous game for us because our kids do not get many chances to play in front of a big crowd and in such a competitive game.”

There would not have been too many people at the Broadfield disagreeing with Bould following another impressive pre-season performance by Steve Evans’ side.

After holding a strong Palace team and thrashing Tottenham’s youngsters, Reds continued their encouraging build-up to the campaign against a side with outstanding movement and passing ability.

They matched the young guns blow-for-blow in the first half and went close to scoring through a header over the top by Jamie Cook and a shot against the stanchion by Thomas Pinault.

The Premier League stars of the future only started to dominate after upping the tempo in the second half when Crawley were beginning to tire.

It was during this time that they broke the deadlock with 19 minutes remaining when the highly-rated Kieran Gibbs converted from close range after being teed up by a surging run and cross from Nacer Barazite.

Reds assistant boss Paul Raynor said: “Arsenal really stepped up to the mark, they were a different proposition to Spurs and showed us fantastic respect by bringing such a good team.

“The quality of their play was mind-blowing and it was a credit to our boys that we chased, closed them down and they didn’t carve us apart.

“We saw a lot of the defensive side of our game, we didn’t see too much creativity, and it was a very disciplined performance. We are very pleased with it.”

Raynor was particularly impressed with central defenders Brad Thomas and Chris Giles.

Although the partnership is new at Reds following the arrival of Giles from Forest Green, they played together at Yeovil and did well against Arsenal’s lively front pair of Rui Fonte and Nacer Barazite.

Raynor said: “I thought Brad Thomas and Chris Giles are beginning to get a decent understanding.

“We also slotted Jamie Stevens in at right back and it looks as though he can play the position.

“It has given us food for thought. Pre-season is about looking and working on your team and fitness and we certainly did it.”

Captain Dannie Bulman added: “Physically, it was the hardest game we have played in pre-season so far because it was almost like chasing shadows at times.

“Those players are at Arsenal for a reason, they are the fittest of the fit and play from top to bottom.

“We have played some very hard games this pre-season and it is good to test yourself against top teams and players you might see playing in the Premier League in the future.”

Crawley: Rayner, Stevens, Thomas, Giles, Rents, Forrest (Weatherstone 46), Bulman (Wilson 59), Pinault (Vernazza 46, Nayee 76), Killeen (Carter 87), Cook, Rankin (Wright 53). Subs not used: Morgan.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Rodgers (Ayling 76), Thomas (Eastman 76), Ogogo, Steer (Frimpong 57), Dunne (Cruise 57), Gibbs, Barazite, Watt (Murphy 46), Fonte, Bartley. Subs not used: Shea.

Referee: Keith Yeo.

Man-of-the-match: Chris Giles..

Attendance: 2,347.

What do you think?