Arsenal have called 13 youth players up for their tour of Dubai, with many senior players either still absent or working on their match fitness.

Lino Sousa claps the Arsenal fans (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Lino Sousa claps the Arsenal fans (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

Arsenal’s group of first-team players in training with the club is steadily growing as the World Cup break goes on.

At this point, 14 senior players are travelling to Dubai: Kieran Tierney, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Marquinhos, Karl Hein, and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

On top of that, Matt Turner and Thomas Partey should soon rejoin the group, having been eliminated from the World Cup.

But even on that list of players currently available, many have just returned from their holiday breaks, and they may need a bit longer before they can complete 90-minute matches to a high standard again.

As a result, Mikel Arteta has padded out his squad with youth players. Below is the full list of academy youngsters involved in the trip.

  • Goalkeepers: Hubert Graczyk, James Hillson
  • Centre-backs: Taylor Foran, Zane Monlouis
  • Full-backs: Lino Sousa, Reuell Walters
  • Midfielders: Catalin Cirjan, Matt Smith, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri
  • Wingers/wide-forwards: Charles Sagoe Jr, Amario Cozier-Duberry
  • Strikers: Nathan Butler-Oyedeji
Taylor Foran and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji celebrate a goal for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Taylor Foran and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji celebrate a goal for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Other than Hillson, all of the above youngsters were in Arsenal’s squad for the friendly match against Watford behind closed doors last week, with most of them featuring on the pitch.

You’d expect them to be involved again against Lyon and AC Milan, and perhaps one or two could then get a chance to stay with the squad for the friendly against Juventus and beyond.

Arsenal World Cup schedule (times in GMT)

  • November 13th-November 27th – Time off
  • November 28th – Return to training
  • December 3rd – Arsenal 2-4 Watford (London Colney)
  • December 4th – Travel to Dubai for a warm-weather camp
  • December 8th, 15:30 – Arsenal vs Lyon (Al Maktoum Stadium)
  • December 13th, 14:00 – Arsenal vs Milan (Al Maktoum Stadium)
  • December 14th – Travel back to London
  • December 17th, 18:00 – Arsenal vs Juventus (Emirates Stadium)
  • W/C December 19th – Rumoured 5th friendly (London Colney)
  • December 26th – The Premier League returns