Arsenal Pre-season

Zelalem, Olsson, Akpom, Gnabry, Aneke, Miquel, Eisfeld and Yennaris all took part in first team training today via @OliPriceBates

Looks really good

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOgwhwUCYAApma2.jpg

That guy is in surprisingly good shape considering his head has been chopped off.

Podolski and Mertesacker (judging by the label on the bag) are back. Not sure when Koscielny and Giroud come back, though:

Arsenal pre season games will be free on Arsenal player

Dodgy stream for the live game, Arsenal Player for the full replay for free. Pretty good deal.

RealGunner wrote:Looks really good

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOgwhwUCYAApma2.jpg

  

GoonerJay29 wrote:Dodgy stream for the live game, Arsenal Player for the full replay for free. Pretty good deal.

They won't be on live?

:I'mveryunoriginal:

Afraid not:

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/the-asia-tour-is-on-arsenal-player

doesnt Espn broadcast the games or just on delay?

Thomas Vermaelen set to miss Asia tour with a back problem, apparently.

We'll probably see a lot of Sagna and Jenkinson at centre back.

he may miss start of the season as well?
surely we need established CB now cant go to season with only 2 Seniors

Miquel will get his chance i'd imagine. Probably his last chance.

Sina is right though, we need someone else apart from the 1st 3 Cbs.

if Miquel was anything on Level of Smalling/Jones sure but he aint  

I still have high hopes for him. He is very intelligent. Let's see

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOrvo3mCQAAKHQE.jpg

Dat away kit  
a decade since Invincibles season
how time flies

Of course Miquel isn't gonna be good if you don't give him a chance. He's always done a good job whenever he's played at CB with the first team, just give him a chance. 'Estabilished' players like Vermaelen make more errors than these youngsters

Promising midfielders Kristoffer Olsson and Gedion Zelalem have been included in Arsenal’s travelling party for the Asia Tour along with five other players from outside the first-team squad.

Ignasi Miquel, Chuks Aneke, Serge Gnabry, Chuba Akpom and Thomas Eisfeld will also make the trip, but there is no place in the squad for Damian Martinez and Nico Yennaris, who have both been left at home and will instead feature for the U21s away to Sutton United on Friday.

Zelalem has only just become a first-year scholar but, such is the high esteem in which he is held by Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff, the Germany U16 international, who has featured just four times for the U21s, has been included. Olsson, meanwhile, travels off the back of a highly-impressive 2012/13 campaign, during which he established himself as a regular for the second-string. The Swedish midfielder featured for the first-team during a pre-season tournament at Southampton last summer, but is yet to make a competitive appearance.

http://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/olsson-and-zelalem-amongst-seven-youngsters-included-on-arsenals-asia-tour/

Provisional squad:

Wojciech Szczesny
Lukasz Fabiasnki
Laurent Koscielny
Per Mertesacker
Ignasi Miquel
Bacary Sagna
Carl Jenkinson
Kieran Gibbs
Mikel Arteta
Aaron Ramsey
Chuks Aneke
Kristoffer Olsson
Jack Wilshere
Tomas Rosicky
Thomas Eisfeld
Gedoin Zelalem
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Serge Gnabry
Ryo Miyaichi
Gervinho
Theo Walcott
Lukas Podolski
Olivier Giroud
Chuba Akpom

Looks like we'll be using Sagna, Jenkinson or Miquel at left back when Gibbs isn't playing, and Ramsey will probably end up playing right back at some point.

There's a ridiculous number of attackers in there, too. We'll likely see a lot of rotation in attacking positions.

They must really see something with zelalem that they really like. I have to say I thought he looked pretty raw in his u21 apps last season

Won't be surprised if Ryo ends up at LB at some point

We'll probably won't see that much of younger players. Olsson, Gnabry, Eisfeld, Zelalem and Akpom will probably only play in the last twenty or so minutes of games. I think it's more likely we'll see Chamberlain play centre midfield and Walcott, Podolski and Gervinho given goes down the middle.

Only four days until our first game. Can't wait.

Oh I just realized zelalem is Ethiopian. I guess he's got very good stamina then. Read on Twitter he had the best fitness results out of everyone at the club

I feel a little bad for Yennaris, that he isn't going. Always liked him and hoped he would prove himself enough to break into the first team as a squad player. Plus he can fill in as a fullback so the staff must feel he just isn't going to break through at this point.

I liked what I saw of Zelalem in his appearances this past spring, though I didn't watch everything. I hope he can develop into a great young player over the next 2-3 seasons. Ethiogermerican!

Diego Armando Maradona wrote:Oh I just realized zelalem is Ethiopian. I guess he's got very good stamina then. Read on Twitter he had the best fitness results out of everyone at the club

He will most probably play for Germany though. USA can still tap him (get on it Chum)

If his stamina is that good at 16 then that's a good omen.

Chum wrote:

I feel a little bad for Yennaris, that he isn't going. Always liked him and hoped he would prove himself enough to break into the first team as a squad player. Plus he can fill in as a fullback so the staff must feel he just isn't going to break through at this point.

Apparently he just came from an injury. But he is always hindered with these injuries whenever he picks up form. Shame really