5 Arsenal youth players join training pre-Real Madrid clash | OneFootball

Five Arsenal youth players trained with the first team ahead of Tuesday’s game against Real Madrid, with a few likely to make the squad.

Photo via Arsenal.com

Five Arsenal academy players were involved in first-team training on Monday, with Max Dowman, Jimi Gower, Brayden Clarke, Seb Ferdinand, and Tommy Setford joining Mikel Arteta’s first-team session.

Arsenal have 18 senior players available for Tuesday’s match against Real Madrid, including Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.

Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Jesus, and Takehiro Tomiyasu all miss out through injury, whilst Raheem Sterling is suspended. With 23 squad spaces available, that means the potential for five call-ups.

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Setford will certainly be called up, as clubs always include their third-choice goalkeeper in the Champions League squads. So that leaves four further spots.

To complicate things, neither Dowman nor Clarke are eligible for the senior squad. Dowman is too young, whilst Clarke hasn’t been at the club for long enough to make Arsenal’s List B.

It’s worth mentioning Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, who was in action with the Arsenal u21s on Monday night.

Despite starting the match, Butler-Oyedeji was withdrawn on the hour mark, suggesting he could be in contention for the first-team bench against Real Madrid.

Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter

If we assume the eligible players in first-team training (Gower and Ferdinand) are called up, along with Butler-Oyedeji, that still leaves one space. Perhaps Arteta will include a fourth goalkeeper, with Jack Porter rested on Monday and Alexei Rojas also available.

The club could also opt just to leave a space empty. All will become clear in a few hours when the squad is confirmed.