A number of youth players joined Arsenal’s first-team training session on Monday ahead of the trip to Eindhoven for the Champions League last-16 first leg.
Arsenal held a first-team training session on Monday, and a number of youth players were involved with Mikel Arteta’s senior squad.
The three least surprising additions were Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Ismeal Kabia, and Tommy Setford.
Champions League clubs almost always bring three goalkeepers to matches and name all three in the matchday squad, so Setford will likely join Neto on the bench on Tuesday, with David Raya starting.
Butler-Oyedeji has been on the bench for all of Arsenal’s recent fixtures, as he’s capable of playing on the wings or at centre-forward. Arteta gave Butler-Oyedeji his Champions League debut as a substitute against GNK Dinamo in January.
Kabia is also a forward, though he solely operates out wide. The 19-year-old was on the bench against Nottingham Forest last week, and he’ll likely make the list of substitutes again on Tuesday.
The other two players spotted in Monday’s session were Alexei Rojas and Ife Ibrahim.
Rojas is another goalkeeper, and he could potentially travel to Eindhoven as well. There are some arguments it’s easier to warm up with four keepers rather than three, but the Colombia u20 international is obviously highly unlikely to play.
As for Ibrahim, the 17-year-old defensive midfielder has primarily played for the Arsenal u18s this season. He made one appearance for the u19s in the UEFA Youth League, and appeared on the bench once for the u21s, but it would be a jump for him to make the first-team squad.
Yet with Arsenal only having 19 fit senior players, plus Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia, and Setford, the Gunners will have one extra space in their 23-man squad. One of Rojas and Ibrahim could fill it.
One player who isn’t set to be involved is Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, despite his strong form with the u21s.
The midfielder wasn’t in first-team training, and he shared a picture on Instagram captioned “matchday” on Monday morning, suggesting he’s set for involvement with the Arsenal u21s against Crystal Palace tonight.