Zech Medley made Arsenal’s Premier League squad on Monday against Leicester City but didn’t travel to Portugal for the Europa League clash with Sporting Lisbon, which may have left some fans confused.
In general, the Premier League is seen as the competition where you field your strongest eleven as often as possible. The Europa League group stage, meanwhile, is where Arsenal took the opportunity to give chances to the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah last season.
With Arsenal’s defensive options as thin as they are, why did Medley not get a similar opportunity, after making the PL squad on Monday? Rob Holding would surely have welcomed a rest, after starting the Gunners’ last seven games.
Unfortunately, the star academy defender isn’t eligible for the competition at this stage. In order to make the Europa League squad B-list, you have to be under the age of 21 (which Medley is) but also have spent two years with your current club. Medley only joined from the Chelsea academy in December 2016.
Frustrating Medley isn't eligible for Europa League otherwise he might have had a chance of playing some part on Thursday.
— Jeorge Bird (@jeorgebird) October 22, 2018
Arsenal could’ve put Medley in the main squad list if they wanted, rather than the B-list. There are only 25 spots though, and the Gunners already had to leave out Cohen Bramall to fit everyone else in.
The good news is that Medley will be eligible for inclusion from this December, so Arsenal could add him in during the knockout stage squad update if they wanted to. We’ll see if they decide to do so. In the meantime, perhaps Medley will get a chance in the League Cup against Blackpool next week.