Youngster Alex Iwobi has been named in the Arsenals quad for the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore. The lad would travel with the Gunners as they prepare to face Everton, Stoke City and a Singapore XI.
The club announced its 27-man squad for the trip on Thursday and it included another Nigerian Chuba Akpom. Captain of the Arsenal U21 side, Iwobi, 19, was born in Lagos but has appeared for the English national youth sides.
His nationality switch to Nigeria was not completed when was invited to the U23 squad in February but he watched from the stands as Samson Siasia’s Dream Team VI defeated Gabon 4-1 in an All African Games qualifier in Libreville. It shouldn’t be long before he makes his first team debut for the Gunners.
“The ambition is to break into the Arsenal first team plans and fulfil my ambition of playing at the top level on a regular basis. The main thing for me is to keep working hard as I still have a long way to get to the top,” Iwobi told BBC Sport in a previous interview.
Other youngsters included in the trip are Gedion Zelalem, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chris Willock. New goalkeeper Petr Cech has also been named on the squad alongside Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Per Mertesacker.
However, Alexis Sanchez will be on holiday until August 3 and David Ospina until July 27 after their campaign at the Copa America.