Dowman and Salmon waiting in the wings as Gunners gear up for Ipswich
Max Dowman and Marli Salmon are expected to be part of the Arsenal squad that faces Ipswich Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup this evening, having sat out Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.
The teenage duo both featured for the under-21s on Monday as they were beaten 4-1 at Meadow Park by Cobham Next Gen, the ridiculous new name Chelsea have given their youth teams. No, we’re not joking.
It remains to be seen whether Dowman can force his way into Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup at Portman Road. With Noni Madueke ahead of him in the pecking order on the right and Eberechi Eze in need of game time, he may have to settle for a place on the bench.
Speaking after the win over Sunderland, Arteta said: “He will have his chance. He will have his minutes, and he will have to earn them like anybody else.
“We know the talent that we have, we know the players that we have there, and we need to help him and find a way to make sure that he continues to develop and help the team.”
Salmon has not featured for the first team since the FA Cup win over Mansfield in March. However, with William Saliba sidelined, Ben White limping off holding his groin on Saturday and then missing training on Monday, and no update on Cristhian Mosquera’s muscular problem, the young defender could get another chance this evening.
Jurrien Timber, who made a welcome return from injury at Sunderland, is the obvious option at right-back, although Arteta will be wary of placing too much strain on the Dutchman after such a long spell out. New boy Ezri Konsa could also play there, but it would require a reshuffle elsewhere in defence. It is certainly not out of the question.
Asked about his team selection for a third consecutive away game, with a fourth to follow at Brighton on Saturday, Arteta said:
“We’ll look at the players’ eyes and they will say they want to play, and ‘I want to win a game, and I want to improve.’
“They will review the [Sunderland] game, and they will be willing for more because I know the boys.”
Second-guessing Arteta is rarely straightforward, but we would expect his lineup to include the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres and the aforementioned Eze and Madueke. Not a bad group to have waiting in reserve.
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