Mikel Arteta involves 18-year-old in training ahead of north London derby

Arsenal will be aiming to return to winning ways when they face arch-rivals Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners have picked up seven points from their opening three league games. They secured good wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa before stumbling against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the proceedings against the Seagulls, but the complexion of the game changed after Declan Rice’s sending-off after the break.

The London giants could have still won the game, had one of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz or Martin Odegaard converted their clear-cut chances on goal.

Arsenal will return to league action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday and ahead of the game, there is a surprise with Michal Rosiak involved in training.

Here are some pictures with him in the background (courtesy – Arsenal.com):

The 18-year-old is one of the brightest candidates in the Arsenal academy. He is predominantly a defensive midfielder, but can also operate from the right-back position.

He had a brilliant 2023/24 season with the development squads, bagging nine goals and seven assists from 38 appearances in all competitions. 70% of his appearances came in midfield.

The youngster has yet to make the matchday squad for Arsenal in any game. It will be interesting to see whether he is on the bench on Sunday with the injuries and suspension woes.

Rice is obviously banned for the derby while Mikel Merino is sidelined with a shoulder fracture. Martin Odegaard is also a huge doubt after twisting his ankle on international duty.

Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly who trained with Rosiak today are strong candidates to make the bench. The former could be handed a full league debut by the manager.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com