Mikel Arteta calls up 'powerful' Arsenal wonderkid to first-team training after Bruno Guimaraes' injury
Arsenal are getting ready for a trip to Aston Villa on Monday night.
The Premier League champions have started the new season in style, beating Manchester City and Coventry City both 3-0.
Up next for Mikel Arteta is a game against the man he replaced, Unai Emery, and he is expected to name a very strong squad.
However, the Arsenal boss has still found the time to call up young players and give them an opportunity to train with the senior side.
Ife Ibrahim called up to Arsenal first-team training
Arsenal could be without Bruno Guimaraes for their game against Aston Villa.
The Brazil international suffered a groin issue during the Community Shield against Manchester City and was also unavailable for the Premier League opener against Coventry.
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Guimaraes’ injury isn’t serious, but he is nowhere to be seen in the training videos Arsenal have released.
The midfielder who can be seen, though, is young Ife Ibrahim.
The ‘powerful‘ 18-year-old has already made his first-team debut under Arteta, and he is seen as a massive talent.
In pre-season, Ibrahim blew Arsenal fans away with his performances, and we won’t be surprised at all to see him get senior opportunities in the coming months.
Arsenal have enough options in midfield to cover for Guimaraes’ absence, so we don’t expect Ibrahim to be involved against Villa.
However, we think he did enough in pre-season to warrant minutes at some point this campaign, perhaps in the cup competitions.
Three other Arsenal academy players were involved in first-team training
The Arsenal academy is one of the best in the business, and we have seen them produce a number of exceptional talents over the years.
Ibrahim is one player who everyone’s excited about, but there are a few others too.
Theo Julienne, Ceadach O’Neill and Jaden Dixon were all called up to first-team training on Friday ahead of the clash against Villa.
Like Ibrahim, we expect all three players to get an opportunity at some point this season.
