Cedric Soares isn’t close to a transfer and wants to stay at Arsenal, but he was left out of the pre-season tour as a technical decision by Mikel Arteta.

Chris Wheatley reports that Cedric Soares was left out of Arsenal’s pre-season trip to the U.S. as a result of a technical decision by Mikel Arteta.

The right-back is reportedly not close to a move away, but the situation is expected to develop in the coming weeks.

James McNicholas had told his YouTube channel that Cedric’s preference was to stay at Arsenal and fight for his place, hoping to play in the Champions League.

But his absence from the pre-season tour certainly seems to make that unlikely.

Cedric isn’t the only player not to have travelled on tour, but all the other players have explanations for why.

Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey are joining up late, Reiss Nelson, Nicolas Pepe, and Albert Sambi Lokonga are all injured, and Nuno Tavares and Matt Turner have recently been on international duty.

By contrast, Cedric is fit, he’s already been involved in pre-season over the last couple of weeks, but he was left out anyway.

With Jurrien Timber joining the club, Arsenal have Ben White, Timber, and Takehiro Tomiyasu for one position.

All three can also play at centre-back, but it still doesn’t look good for Cedric to get regular minutes.

The Evening Standard had also previously reported that Cedric intends to earn his spot in Arteta’s squad, with a year left on his Arsenal deal.

But this latest exclusion perhaps spells the end for those intentions.

Cedric made 12 appearances in 2022/23, four for Arsenal and eight on loan with Fulham.