Arsenal will travel to the Legendary City Ground at West Bridgford of Nottinghamshire to face Nottingham Forest in the third round of the EFL cup. Arsene Wenger has used this competition in the past as the platform to allow his younger players to get extended game time and develop their skills. Arsenal’s youngsters made a name for themselves with their brilliantly refreshing performances against experienced and much older opponents in yester years and almost every youth player gets excited when the club competes in the EFL cup or the League cup as they know they are in with a chance to show their talents.
After spending close to £100m this summer in the transfer market, Arsene Wenger now has a pretty big squad at his disposal. It now seems that he won’t be fielding a team based on the youth players anymore but without a doubt there will be a few names of young players involved when they will face Forest. Let’s take a look at some of those names who might feature on Tuesday night.
Chuba Akpom
The 20-year-old striker had been heavily involved in the pre-season for Arsenal scoring in every match he played. Akpom looked very sharp with his movement and finishing and with Olivier Giroud still not fully fit, Akpom has a great chance of actually featuring in the match and can even start.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide
Arsenal’s exciting youngster Reine-Adelaide wowed everyone with his talent and confidence last year in the Emirates Cup. He was also a player who played a part in the preseason and has previously played in the F.A Cup. The 18-year-old can play out wide in the wings and will be a player who will feature in the game as Wenger can rest the likes of Sanchez and Iwobi and replace them with the France u-18 player for the tie.
Krystian Bielik
Bielik has been one of the most impressive young players for the Arsenal reserves in recent years. The 18-year old versatile Polish player who can play both as a centre-back and as a defensive midfielder and made his debut last year in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday.
He played 30 minutes of the game and even though Arsenal lost 3-0, the game provided him exactly the experience he needed to get a full understanding of the levels of football which was necessary. It would be interesting to see how he utilises his past experiences in his game if he plays any part on Tuesday, which seems very possible.
