Morning, welcome to a model new week.
The Arsenal crew left London for the US yesterday, and a 26 man squad was introduced by way of the official web site. Due to the worldwide tournaments, it’s an actual mixture of senior and youthful gamers. Final yr there was only one younger participant with the squad, this time you may rely 13, with some names a bit extra acquainted than others.
There’s further room within the defensive line-up as a result of Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu each have accidents. The previous we all know from his time on the Euros, the latter is – if not fairly a shock – not one we had heard about within the build-up to the departure. I noticed James Benge report on Twitter it was a 2/3 week situation for Tomiyasu, so let’s hope that’s very a lot the case, and that’s all it’s.
The goalkeeping roster is especially inexperienced, with Karl Hein the senior man there … and he’s made only one first crew look for the membership. He does have 30 caps for Estonia although! Backing him up at some stage in the tour – as a result of David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale gained’t return till the crew will get again to London – are new signings Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard, in addition to 18 yr outdated Alexei Rojas. Kai Havertz, Gabriel, and Gabriel Martinelli will be a part of up with the squad on the Los Angeles coaching camp from July twenty fifth, whereas Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are on the identical schedule because the goalkeepers.
So, it is a chance for some younger gamers to play some video games, and work alongside the primary crew proper underneath the nostril of the supervisor and his teaching employees. The 2 I preserve mentioning are Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, however it will likely be attention-grabbing to see if anybody else catches the attention. The fact is that Mikel Arteta might be going to have to combine and match his crew picks, pairing ample expertise with the youth to make sure they aren’t out of their depth in opposition to Premier League opposition.
It’s a part of the problem he faces this pre-season. Ideally he’d like the total complement of first crew gamers at his disposal to do the coaching floor work, however that is what you need to cope with after a event summer season, not least when a few of your gamers go the total distance. As pre-season goes on, most of those younger gamers will drop away to get replaced by returning senior gamers and – who is aware of?! – a signing or two, however for now, they’ve received an opportunity to impress within the video games in opposition to Bournemouth, Man Utd, and Liverpool.
My understanding is that there can be a while for Arteta (and maybe Edu) to satisfy with journalists who’re happening the tour, and little question there can be some questions on recruitment. I don’t suppose we’ll get an excessive amount of element concerning the plans, however there is likely to be a bit of information there about what may occur and when. Additionally, given the make-up of the squad, and the continued tales about gamers like Emile Smith Rowe (Crystal Palace/Fulham), Eddie Nketiah (Marseille/Palace, and Reiss Nelson (West Ham), I’d be stunned if there any vital developments with them till the tour was over, however let’s see.
Proper, I’m gonna depart it there for this morning, however James and I recorded an Arsecast Additional for you final evening, discussing Smith Rowe in some element, Riccardo Calafiori, the outcry over the possible departure of a 16 yr outdated and wider dialogue concerning the Academy, and much extra. All of the hyperlinks you want to hear/subscribe are under.
Until tomorrow.
