4 Arsenal youth players join senior training pre-Fulham | OneFootball

Four Arsenal youth players were involved in training on Friday ahead of the upcoming Premier League fixture against Fulham.

Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter

At least four Arsenal youngsters joined the club’s first-team training session on Friday, including midfielder Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand and forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.

Jimi Gower was another youth midfielder involved in the session, whilst goalkeeper Alexei Rojas trained with the other shot-stoppers.

There have been reports this week that Rojas is extending his contract with Arsenal, and the 19-year-old’s continued inclusion in first-team training can’t be doing anything to hurt relations between player and club.

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

With all due respect to the above quartet, Arsenal fans will be hoping that there isn’t any room in the first-team squad against Fulham on Tuesday night.

That’s because one of the major uncertainties is around the fitness of Bukayo Saka, and whether the winger might be ready to return to the bench by Tuesday.

Riccardo Calafiori is likely to miss the match, along with Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

But if Saka is available, Arsenal will have 20 senior players to fill 20 matchday squad spots. For the avoidance of doubt, that figure does include Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

If Saka is in, the likes of Butler-Oyedeji could well miss out. If the senior winger needs more time to recover, there will be an open spot. After three months on the sidelines, you’d think the latter is currently more likely.