'Unreal’ English youngster among seven academy stars in Arsenal’s Asia tour squad

Arsenal will continue their pre-season preparation in Asia, with games scheduled for Singapore and Hong Kong.

They will face Serie A outfit AC Milan on July 23 before meeting Newcastle United four days later, both in Singapore.

The North London outfit will round up their tour on July 31 against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong.

The club have now revealed their 30-man squad for the tour, including seven academy players, headlined by Max Dowman, described as ‘unreal’ by Declan Rice.

The 15-year-old is one of the finest talents in the country and has been training with the first team since he was 14.

Chelsea floated the idea of including him in the deal for Noni Madueke, but Arsenal, unsurprisingly, rejected their offer as they intend to promote him to the first team next season.

The inclusion of 15-year-old centre-back Marli Salmon is also noteworthy.

Salmon only debuted for the U18s and U21s last season, featuring in five U18 Premier League matches and five Premier League 2 games, while he also featured once in the play-off.

Other academy players included in the squad are Alexei Rojas-Fedorushchenko, Josh Nichols, Louie Copley, Ismeal Kabia and Andre Harriman-Annous.

Arsenal’s full 30-man squad for the Asia tour

Goalkeepers: David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tommy Setford, Alexei Rojas-Fedorushchenko.

Defenders: William Saliba, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Josh Nichols, Marli Salmon.

Midfielders: Martin Odegaard, Christian Norgaard, Mikel Merino, Sambi Lokonga, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Louie Copley.

Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Reiss Nelson, Kai Havertz, Ismeal Kabia, Max Dowman, Andre Harriman-Annous.

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