Mikel Arteta calls up 8 youth players ahead of Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

At least eight players from the Arsenal academy were involved in first-team training on Wednesday, with u18 coach Adam Birchall also joining the session.

Photo via Casey on Instagram

With many senior players still returning from international duty, Mikel Arteta included a lot of academy youngsters in his first-team training session on Wednesday.

Arsenal Youth reports that at least eight members of Arsenal’s u18 and u21 teams were involved in the session.

Defenders Marli Salmon and Samuel Onyekachukwu both took part, as did midfielder Louie Copley and Dan Casey.

Winger trio Brando Bailey-Joseph, Seb Ferdinand, and Romari Forde were all involved as well, with centre-forward Andre Harriman-Annous also stepping up.

Photo via Arsenal.com

Many of the players listed above have primarily featured for Arsenal at u18 level so far this season, so it was appropriate that u18 head coach Adam Birchall also joined the session.

It’s been relatively common to see the coaches of the academy teams involved in first-team training when youth players step up. Jack Wilshere linked up with Arteta for training on a number of occasions before his departure, and Birchall is following the same blueprint.

It makes sense for the players, as they have someone there who knows them well, ready to give them tips based on what they’ve been working on in their academy sessions.

Photo via Arsenal.com

It’s unlikely any of the players listed above will be involved in Arteta’s first-team squad against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, given Arsenal’s 11 internationals will have returned from their break to fill out the squad.

But it’s good for the senior players who stayed behind to have the academy players to help keep them sharp, and it’s great experience for those youngsters to test themselves against the best the club has to offer.