Arsenal’s u23 side have taken FC Twente left-back Redouan Taha el Idrissi on trial in pre-season.

The Arsenal academy have travelled to Slovakia for their pre-season tour, facing Czech side AC Sparta Prague B on Friday.

The u23s named El Idrissi in their starting lineup, a 20-year-old left-back who was playing for FC Twente’s u21 side last season. El Idrissi’s contract expires this summer, although he does reportedly have an option for another year with the Dutch club.

El Idrissi received fairly inconsistent game time with FC Twente last season, only playing 90 minutes in five of his 11 appearances for the season.

Left-back has become a bit of a problem position for Arsenal in general, and that’s also true in the u23s, with Tolaji Bola’s injury problems and Dominic Thompson’s inconsistent form – though Thompson has been playing well in pre-season so far.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arsenal bringing in another left-back at youth level, but we’ll have to wait and see whether El Idrissi impressed in his trial match.

As for the actual game, it didn’t go particularly well. The u23s lost 3-0 to Sparta, but in their defence, it’s more about building fitness at this stage anyway.

Many of the more senior u23 players are also away on the first-team tour, so they’re certainly not at full strength. Nonetheless, they’ll be hoping for a better result in their next game.