It’s increasingly likely that Joe Willock will remain an Arsenal player ahead of the new campaign.

He was expected to leave at the end of June when his scholarship deal expired, especially as he was offered professional terms and there was no development on that front.

Instead, he was among the promising youngsters who were involved in the first training session of pre-season.

Cohen Bramall, Daniel Crowley and Reiss Nelson were just a few of those also in action at London Colney, which suggests that Willock’s stay in north London will be extended if they can negotiate terms shortly.

Joe made his U23s debut during a 2-1 defeat against Sunderland in April. His progress at youth level is likely to see these appearances a more regular occurrence under Steve Gatting, while remaining eligible to feature for the U18s.

His brother Chris’ departure was made official earlier this month. He became increasingly agitated over a lack of first-team opportunities and joined Portuguese giants SL Benfica.