Add as preferred source on Google
Arsenal are hard at work at their training ground ahead of their Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
The Gunners haven’t won a major trophy since the FA Cup in 2020, and Mikel Arteta is desperate to end that run at Wembley on Sunday.
Call it now, will Mikel Arteta’s record be intact after the Carabao Cup final?
Credit: Getty Images/CATHERINE IVILL/POOL/AFP
All the big names are expected to be involved in the squad, but could a youngster make the cut too? A few of them were involved in training ahead of the game.
Ife Ibrahim was one of them.
Ife Ibrahim, Max Dowman and Marli Salmon train with the Arsenal first-team for the Carabao Cup final
Arsenal’s academy is clearly one of the best in the business.
The Gunners have been producing one incredible talent after another over the last few years, and they are showing no signs of stopping.
Max Dowman has made the most noise this season, while Marli Salmon has also convinced people that he is a star in the making.
Those two teenagers were unsurprisingly involved in first-team training on Friday, but a few others joined them too.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Ibrahim, who was handed his senior debut by Arteta in the Champions League game against Kairat Almaty, was also spotted at the Sobha Realty Training Centre ahead of the cup final.
The 18-year-old is a defensive midfielder by trade, and he is rated very highly by those who regularly watch the academy games at Arsenal.
It is highly unlikely that Ibrahim will get into the Carabao Cup final matchday squad against Manchester City, but the fact that he has been called up to senior training shows that Arteta has liked what he has seen.
We expect Ibrahim to be in the squad when Arsenal take on Southampton in the FA Cup in April.
Who is the one Arsenal academy player you thought would become a superstar but never did?
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images Two other Arsenal academy players trained with the first team
Arteta has always been open to giving opportunities to youngsters.
The Arsenal manager has handed debuts to several teenagers over the years, and he has allowed many others the chance to train with the first team as well.
Along with Ibrahim, Dowman and Salmon, Brayden Clarke and Josh Ogunnaike were involved in the second part of Friday’s first-team training session.
Clarke is an 18-year-old centre-back who has been a regular for the Arsenal U21s this season. He has also played for the Welsh U19s side.
Ogunnaike, 17, is a left-back who has also been involved with the U21s since January this year. He has featured in each of their last eight games.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox