Eight Arsenal youth players were involved in first-team training ahead of Sunday’s game against Spurs, with Max Dowman edging closer to his injury comeback.
Arsenal Youth report that eight Arsenal players were involved in at least part of the Gunners’ first-team training session on Friday, ahead of the north London derby on Sunday.
That number notably includes midfielder Max Dowman and centre-back Marli Salmon, both of whom were involved in full training.
The duo have made multiple senior appearances already this season, and it looks as though they’ll continue to be involved with the first team. Dowman is still waiting for his first competitive appearance post-injury, but after a couple of weeks in training he should be close now.
Then Demiane Agustien, Brayden Clarke, Jaden Dixon, Marcell Washington, Josh Ogunnaike, and Ceadach O’Neill were all involved in the second half of the session, with O’Neill’s involvement perhaps particularly noteworthy given his senior call-up for the FA Cup clash against Wigan last weekend.
Ahead of a big derby game, it’s obviously good for the Arsenal u21s to get an opportunity to train alongside the senior players and see how they prepare for these kinds of fixtures.
It’s unlikely any youth players will be called up to the first-team squad this weekend though. Leaving aside the fact that it’s a derby match, Arsenal simply don’t have much space available in the first-team squad.
There are doubts about the availability of Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz, but even if both are out, bench space will be at a premium.
If Arsenal do require a couple of youth players to make the step up at the last minute, Salmon and Dowman are the obvious primary candidates.