He will make his debut tonight: Mikel Arteta considers 19-year-old debut vs Sevilla tonight as Bukayo Saka is now ruled out
Ahead of the away fixture in the Champions League, Mikel Arteta has some lineup choices to ponder. He may even gift a 19-year-old his Arsenal debut.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is known for his excellent reputation of promoting youth players and deploying a young starting eleven with huge belief. This could yet again be the case tonight, as he has called some young players to train with the starting eleven before they face Sevilla away from home.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta calls up Bradley Ibrahim to train with the seniors
According to journalist Jeorge Bird (via TBR), among those young players is 19-year-old midfielder Bradley Ibrahim has been given the nod to train with the senior team. If he impresses, what’s to say he cannot feature in the squad tonight?
The match against Sevilla is Arsenal’s third Champions League fixture and it has become a very important match. Despite flying in their first group stage match against PSV, they were victims of defeat in the following match in Lens. Therefore, this feels like a must-win for Mikel Arteta tonight.
Despite being the away team, Arsenal are narrow favourites to win this match. Sevilla are in woeful form, winning just one of their last five matches in La Liga. Still, anything can happen in the Champions League, so a strong lineup is expected from Mikel Arteta.
Should the game follow the same trajectory as the PSV home game, then Mikel Arteta may favour some youth players coming off the bench. Certainly, it would be a magical moment to make your Arsenal debut in the Champions League.
The reality is, though, three points are very much needed. Therefore, in the starting eleven, there isn’t expected to be much rotation, if any at all. That’s not to say that some prodigies won’t get their moment from the bench if the Gunners are cruising.
