Bradley Ibrahim is one of four youth players who has travelled to Eindhoven for Arsenal’s match against PSV, according to Mikel Arteta.

Catalin Cirjan shields the ball for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via LCFC.com)
Catalin Cirjan shields the ball for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via LCFC.com)

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s match against PSV Eindhoven, Mikel Arteta confirmed that a few youth players would be involved in the senior squad once again for the Europa League clash, as they don’t have enough first-team players to fill the bench.

“We don’t have that many players,” Arteta said. “I bring the players that we have. We are bringing four kids with us, so we cannot even make the (full) squad.”

Bradley Ibrahim is one of the four, posting a picture on his Instagram story confirming he boarded the flight to the Netherlands from Luton Airport on Wednesday.

As for the other three, it’s likely Arteta was referring to Catalin Cirjan, Matt Smith, and Karl Hein.

Cirjan and Smith could be seen in training photos ahead of the game, whilst Hein has been Arsenal’s regular third-choice goalkeeper for these European away days.

Cirjan has been involved in three of Arsenal’s four Europa League squads so far, as has Smith, and it looks like they’ll make it four out of five on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, this would be just a second first-team squad appearance for young midfielder Ibrahim, who turned 18 last week.

Matt Smith with Arsenal (Photo via TwoTouchAgency on Instagram)
Matt Smith with Arsenal (Photo via TwoTouchAgency on Instagram)

It’s unlikely any of the young players will make the starting lineup against PSV, as Arsenal look to secure top spot in the group with a point or three.

But if the Gunners can come away from Eindhoven with a result, they’ll have a dead rubber game against FC Zurich next week to hand out a debut or two.