Arsenal have named a 29-man group to travel out to America, with a few notable absentees including Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe
Arsenal have confirmed their travelling squad for the preseason tour of America. Mikel Arteta has selected a 29-man group that includes new signings Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice.
While there are plenty of exciting new names in the group, there are several notable absentees. Perhaps the biggest name not to travel is Thomas Partey. football.london understands that Arsenal are expecting the Ghanaian to join up with them in the States next week. Partey has been subject to speculation over his future amid interest from teams in Saudi Arabia and Italy.
Nicolas Pepe and Albert Sambi Lokonga are all also absent from the group due to injury. Lokonga also missed the training camp in Germany and subsequent friendly with FC Nurnberg earlier this week due to injury. Cedric also misses out Nuno Tavares is also not included as he takes his holiday after representing Portugal in the Under-21 Euros. None of these four are expected to join the Arsenal squad in America.
Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo is absent from the travelling party as he edges closer to a move away from the club. Fellow stopper Matt Turner meanwhile has been representing America at international level and is now on holiday. He could be back for the Emirates Cup match with AS Monaco on August 2nd or the Community Shield on August 6th.
Youngsters Reuell Walters, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are not included in the travelling party despite all playing in Nurnberg. Amario Cozier-Duberry is the only academy player to make the trip as Arteta once again goes for an experienced group. It is understood that this was communicated to them prior to the training camp at Adidas HQ. The former trio will now likely travel with the Under-21s for a training camp in Spain.
In a statement on their official website Arsenal confirmed that "the players who are not part of the squad will be working hard on their fitness and/or recovering from injury." This is the reason given for Reiss Nelson's absence.
The Gunners will fly first to Washington where they will take on the MLS All Stars. Following that it's a trip to New Jersey to play Manchester United, before the tour rounds off with a fixture against Barcelona in LA.
Full Arsenal preseason tour squad -
1 Aaron Ramsdale 2 William Saliba 3 Kieran Tierney 4 Ben White 6 Gabriel Magalhaes 7 Bukayo Saka 8 Martin Odegaard 9 Gabriel Jesus 11 Gabriel Martinelli 12 Jurrien Timber 13 Alex Runarsson 14 Eddie Nketiah 15 Jakub Kiwior 16 Rob Holding 18 Takehiro Tomiyasu 19 Leandro Trossard 20 Jorginho 21 Fabio Vieira 25 Mohamed Elneny 26 Folarin Balogun 27 Marquinhos 29 Kai Havertz 31 Karl Hein 32 Auston Trusty 35 Oleksandr Zinchenko 41 Declan Rice 45 Amario Cozier-Duberry
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