Arsenal has just announced the 25-player squad for the 2023-2024 Champions League, including a young star who has never played for the first team at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal will return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016 – 2017 season. Coach Mikel Arteta of the “Gunners” has just named the 25-player squad to participate in Europe’s most prestigious club-level tournament with many unexpected personnel.
The London “Gunners” are in Group B of the Champions League along with PSV, Europa League champion Sevilla and Lens. Mikel Arteta and his team will start the Champions League campaign by welcoming PSV at Emirates home stadium at 2:00 a.m. on September 21.
In the list of 25 Arsenal players participating in the Champions League, there are two blockbuster summer signings, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, but rookie Jurrien Timber is absent due to a serious knee injury.
Timber required surgery due to an ACL injury sustained in Arsenal’s Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest last month. Arsenal has not set a date for Timber’s return, but the Dutch midfielder could be added to the Arsenal squad in January 2024 if the injury recovery process goes well.
When Timber cannot play, the Arsenal squad will have a place for Cedric Soares. The Portuguese full-back is expected to leave Arsenal in the summer transfer window, but the “Gunners” have not found a club to recruit him.
And with Kieran Tierney joining Real Sociedad on a season-long loan, Arteta has named 18-year-old Lino Sousa in the Champions League squad. The left-back is a regular starter for Arsenal’s U-21 team, having made 32 appearances for the team, but he has yet to make his debut for the Gunners’ first team.
Arsenal’s 3 goalkeepers are Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya, and James Hillson. Hillson, 22 years old, sat on the bench three times in the Europa League last season. He and Sousa have not yet had any official matches for Arsenal’s first team.
Based on Champions League regulations, Arsenal can still change personnel in the squad during the group stage but is still limited to 25 players. That means, if another player’s name is entered, Arsenal must also eliminate a corresponding person. When the Champions League round of 16 takes place, teams will no longer be allowed to change their registration list.
During a tour in the US to prepare for the new season, Spanish strategist Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenal needs to add many quality players to serve the Champions League arena.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta shared: “We returned to the Champions League, a tournament we have not participated in for many years. Surely things will be more difficult because this tournament is on another level.
That’s why we need a different squad than what we had last year. I think what we did in the transfer market this summer has something to do with that and Arsenal will certainly have a better quality squad.”
Arsenal’s 25-player squad for the Champions League:
Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya, James Hillson
Defenders: Cedric, Lino Sousa, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Gabriel, Jacob Kiwior, William Saliba
Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny, Jorginho, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, Emile Smith Rowe
Forwards: Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus.