Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah speaks on pre-season 'chance' amid links with move to Marseille

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Evening Standard

·24 July 2024

Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah speaks on pre-season 'chance' amid links with move to Marseille

Gunners set to meet Bournemouth in Carson, California

Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah believes the club’s pre-season tour of the United States offers a “really good chance” to impress Mikel Arteta.

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The Gunners play Bournemouth during the early hours of Thursday morning (UK time) in Carson, California before games against Manchester United and Liverpool in Los Angeles and Philadelphia respectively.

Arteta has named a youthful 26-man squad for the tour, including developing talents Ayden Heaven, Omar Rekik, Ethan Nwaneri, Salah–Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Jimi Gower and Charles Sagoe Jr.

New signings Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard will also be part of the squad, while Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz are set to join up before the clash with United at SoFi Stadium on Saturday 27 July.

Nketiah, who made his first-team debut during a tour of Australia and China in 2017, believes the games will help the young players in the squad start to make an impression.

“Pre-season is really good for a lot of the lads who haven’t trained or played with us that much to show what they can do,” he told the club’s official website.

“It gives people opportunities to show themselves and get fit, so hopefully they can take them.

“It’s a platform, even for us now, to make our mark and start playing games regularly and get fit. I think there are a lot of examples of players who did well in pre-season and gone on to play and have minutes in the first team, so it’s a really good chance.”

Arsenal are hoping to seal a deal for top target Riccardo Calafiori after a breakthrough in talks with Bologna, while Marseille are believed to be interested in a move for Nketiah.