Arsenal youth duo Ife Ibrahim and Marli Salmon are set to receive call-ups to the first-team squad for Wednesday night’s Champions League match against Kairat Almaty.
Isaan Khan of the Daily Mail reports that Arsenal academy duo Ife Ibrahim and Marli Salmon are both set to be in the matchday squad against Kairat Almaty on Wednesday night.
Brando Bailey-Joseph and Jack Porter are also reportedly with the squad ahead of the game, though that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be named on the bench. Players will sometimes join the team pre-game as emergency backups, particularly goalkeepers like Porter.
Arsenal fans will be familiar with Salmon, given the defender has already made an appearance in this season’s Champions League.
The 16-year-old came on at right-back against Club Brugge in December, and he might be in line for another opportunity this midweek.
Arsenal will be without William Saliba and Jurrien Timber due to minor knocks, Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera, and Piero Hincapie are only recently back from injuries of their own, and Mikel Arteta will be wary of overplaying Gabriel Magalhaes after his hamstring setback in November.
Then Ibrahim is a midfielder who signed his first professional contract with Arsenal this week. With Declan Rice and Mikel Merino suspended and Martin Zubimendi probably in need of a rest, there’s perhaps an opportunity for some midfield minutes on Wednesday as well.
If included, Bailey-Joseph is a winger, whilst Arsenal fans will know Porter from his performance in goal in the League Cup against Bolton Wanderers last season.
This is a rare game with relatively little at stake for the team. Arsenal would have to lose to even have a chance of conceding top spot in the Champions League’s League Phase, and they’d still finish second even if that happened (functionally the same as finishing first in terms of the draw).
Considering it’s a home game against the club in 36th in the table, a defeat by enough goals to overturn Arsenal’s five-goal advantage over Bayern Munich seems unlikely.
Arsenal have key Premier League fixtures, League Cup semi-finals, and FA Cup and Champions League knockout matches on the horizon. It’s hard to see the next time Arteta will have the chance to hand out some development minutes.