December is upon us, and with that, the FA Cup – a special competition for Arsenal – is once again on the horizon.
The draw for the third round takes place on December 6th, where Arsenal will find out who they’ll be facing as they look to win a record 15th FA Cup.
However, the third round also represents an opportunity for some of Arsenal’s young guns to impress Mikel Arteta.
With that in mind, let’s see who the Spaniard could hand a first-team debut to, should the Gunners be handed a comfortable draw…
Mika Biereth
Last season, the Danish wonderkid scored 21 goals for Fulham in the Under-18 Premier League, which earned him a move to Arsenal.
Biereth has since been promoted to first-team training at London Colney, which suggests he is making great progress at the Emirates Stadium.
The 18-year-old has also scored five goals in 13 Premier League 2 appearances this season, while also providing three assists.
In our view, the fact that Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are set to leave in June means Arteta may opt to give Biereth a debut in the FA Cup, instead of wasting more game time on departing players.
Charlie Patino
In our view, Patino is a certainty to be given his first-team debut.
There has been plenty of talk about the 18-year-old, who is also a regular in first-team training for Arsenal.
Patino – who has been compared to Jack Wilshere – is a tidy, composed midfielder, who Arteta has already called a ‘good’ trainer.
He came close to making his debut against Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup, and now, we feel he’ll get a shot in the FA Cup next month.
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