The Arsenal senior squad have travelled to the Adidas HQ in Germany for a pre-season training camp. They have been joined by a number of the youth players, too, providing a brilliant experience for their burgeoning talent.
However, some of the notable Arsenal youth stars have remained in London. Omari Hutchinson, Miguel Azeez, Ryan Alebiosu and Marcelo Flores all remained behind. The quartet have been some of the group most appreciated, with Azeez and Alebiosu spending time on loan in League 1 last season.
Meanwhile, the likes of Matt Smith, Charlie Patino, Reuell Walters, Lino Sousa, Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand and Folarin Balogun have all made the trip to the continent. However, this shouldn’t be taken as a bad thing by any means.
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Mikel Arteta knows he can only take so many with him, and with the scheduled under-21s pre-season fixture with Woking taking place yesterday, stealing away all the stars would have been counter-productive to their preparations.
The US tour is set to go ahead next week when Arsenal will travel to Florida to play against Everton, Orlando City and Chelsea. It is likely that many of the players who didn’t go to Germany will therefore make the trip to the States, with some remaining behind.
There are so many players whose futures in the senior squad remain uncertain, so getting the call to come to Germany is no guarantee of a place on the plane both physically and metaphorically for next season. It is a chance to showcase the player’s talent, and none should take it for granted.
Arsenal need to make a decision on the likes of Bernd Leno, Nicolas Pepe, Reiss Nelson, Pablo Mari, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Bellerin. Lucas Torreira also is yet to return from an extended break, but no say on his future has yet been made.
Hutchinson had been linked with a move away to the Championship, with Reading a potential candidate. However, these have since gone cold, and there has been little to no word on any new interested parties.
Miguel Azeez could potentially also leave on loan with Folarin Balogun’s future also not decided after spending time with Middlesbrough last season. Flores recently made his debut for the Mexican senior international side, and with a World Cup coming, he will know minutes at the senior club level will be critical to potentially earning a place in the team for Qatar.
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