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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Mikel Arteta calls up four wonderkids to Arsenal training ahead of FA Cup final vs Chelsea

Arsenal's FA Cup final against Chelsea is just days away and head coach Mikel Arteta is assessing his squad options.

The Spaniard will be without the likes of Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, Gabriel Martinelli and Shkodran Mustafi because of injury, while Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi are unlikely to be involved at Wembley Stadium.

However, goalkeeper Bernd Leno could be available after returning from a knee injury quicker than expected. Although it has already been confirmed that Emiliano Martinez will start against the Blues.

Mikel Arteta targets defender after Shkodran Mustafi injury

But is Arteta planning any surprises in terms of who will make his matchday squad on cup final day?

Well, during Wednesday's training session at London Colney, the likes of Leno, Martinez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe were all involved.

As were four of the club's most promising players.

Midfielder Matt Smith, defenders Harry Clarke, Daniel Ballard and goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein were all put through their paces at the club's training base.

It's not the first time since his appointment that Arteta has invited a crop of youngsters to train with first-team and included Smith on the substitutes bench in the semi-final win over Man City.

Meanwhile, a shortage at centre-back could see one of Clarke or Ballard be on the bench at the weekend.

As for Hein, he was among the group that travelled to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final win earlier in the month and recently revealed why he joined the Gunners instead of Manchester United a couple of summers ago.

"I actually received an offer from Manchester United around the same time too," Hein told the Arsenal matchday programme.

"When I first received offers from them and Arsenal I was honoured because they're both such massive clubs with an impressive history, so it was a hard decision to make, but right from the start I just loved Arsenal.

"Everything felt so right.

"When I was on trial, the impression that they gave me was so impressive because I loved the atmosphere at the training ground and the way all the people spoke to me and welcomed me.

"After that I just had this gut feeling that Arsenal was the right place for me and my development."

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