Nathan Butler-Oyedeji has trained with Arsenal’s first team as Mikel Arteta and co prepare to take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this afternoon.
The Gunners lost to PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League on Thursday evening and only drew away at Southampton last weekend.
Some are starting to worry that Arsenal may just be taking a step back after making such a blistering start to the season.
Arteta must get his troops geared up for one more big push before the World Cup break and he brought some young players into first-team training on Saturday.
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji has trained with Arsenal’s first team
Arteta usually brings a few young players into training.
Khayon Edwards, Catalin Cirjan and Ethan Nwaneri are all well-known in Arsenal circles at this point having trained with senior players and travelled for first-team games.
Arteta included a whopping nine academy players in Arsenal’s final training session before taking on Forest at the Emirates Stadium, according to Arsenal youth expert Jeorge Bird.
Matt Smith, Bradley Ibrahim, Catalin Cirjan, James Hillson, Hubert Graczyk, Taylor Foran, Zach Awe and Amario Cozier-Duberry were all involved, as well as Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.
Bird adds that Butler-Oyedeji actually travelled for Arsenal’s Europa League clash against PSV on Thursday as an ‘extra man’ in case of an injury.
That seems to suggest that Arteta rates Butler-Oyedeji highly and a matchday inclusion may not be all that far off.
The 19-year-old has been coming up through the Arsenal ranks since the age of just eight.
Butler-Oyedeji has excelled in the EFL Trophy this season, bagging three goals and one assist in three games.
An attacker who can play all across the front line, Oyedeji has been hailed for his ‘explosive pace’ on Arsenal’s official website.
That write-up also praised Butler-Oyedeji as a ‘dynamic’ forward with real versatility; all aspects no doubt appealing to Arteta.
It still seems unlikely that Butler-Oyedeji will be in the Arsenal squad for today’s game against Forest but the teenager is yet another name to keep a close eye on for the future.
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