In exactly a week’s time, Arsenal will begin their pre-season fixtures with a trip to Underhill to take on Barnet, who host the Gunners’ home Reserve fixtures.
As ever, Arsene Wenger’s squad is likely to consist of a mixture of first-team regulars and promising youngsters; although, on this occasion, he will be hit by several absentees. Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, Henri Lansbur, Gavin Hoyte, Rhys Murphy and Fran Mérida will all miss out because of their various international commitments over the course of the summer, whilst the players who returned to training late because of World Cup qualifiers; including Emmanuel Adebayor, Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Alex Song and Robin van Persie will also be absent.
This will open the door for several young professionals to represent the first-team, albeit in a friendly and at a ground where they have turned out countless times before. Having said that, the opportunity to line-up alongside the likes of Andrey Arshavin, Samir Nasri, William Gallas, Manuel Almunia and new signing Thomas Vermaelen should be a memory to cherish.
But which Arsenal youngsters will be involved? Well, some of the more high-profile young pros such as Jay Simpson, Francis Coquelin and Nacer Barazite will all participate at some point, along with Jack Wilshere and Kyle Bartley.
As well as those, two of the most improved young players at the club in Craig Eastmond and Luke Ayling could be amongst the substitutes. The duo signed their first professional contracts at the end of last month after forming half of the defence which was pivotal in the under-18s double winning success last season.
Just being around the first-team squad, as they have been in training this week, will give them an added buzz, and the fact that they are no longer eligible for the youth team suggests that this is a big step in their fledgling careers.
