Seven Arsenal youth players took part in first-team training on Monday, ahead of the senior side’s League Cup match against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday.
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Arsenal are set to play League Two side Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night, perhaps representing an opportunity for some youth players to get a rare opportunity in the senior squad.
With the majority of Arsenal’s games coming in a Premier League title race or the Champions League at the moment, the League Cup is the one competition where the pressure isn’t quite as high – particularly when the Gunners are facing lower-league opposition.
So the day before Tuesday’s game, it was noteworthy that quite a few academy prospects took part in first-team training.
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Forwards Andre Harriman-Annous, James Scanlon, Igor Tyjon, and Ceadach O’Neill all joined the session, along with midfielders Ife Ibrahim and Theo Julienne, and left-back Marcell Washington.
Julienne can also play at right-back, and he did so during first-team pre-season, so it’s possibly he was training in that capacity rather than in his usual midfield position.
Youngsters Marli Salmon and Max Dowman were also both involved in the session, but the recent first-team squad photo made it clear they’re considered senior players now.
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Mikel Arteta won’t call up all of the above players, but it’s possible one or two will make the squad against Fleetwood Town, allowing for some senior stars to rest.
We’ll get a big hint at which players are set for involvement two hours before the lineups are released, as the u21s are in action against AFC Wimbledon at 18:00 GMT.
Anyone in the u21 squad obviously won’t be playing a part for the first team at 20:00 GMT, so the u21 teamsheet is one to look out for on Tuesday afternoon.
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