Arsenal vs Hibernian: 5 players to look out for in pre-season clash

51 days after putting Brighton to the sword 2-0 at home on the final day of the Premier League season Arsenal are back on our screens north of the border to face Hibernian.

Part one of a two part mini-tour, Rangers will follow on the Saturday before the side jet off to the USA as part of the Florida Cup. It’s a period of the year that can’t be looked to deeply into but nonetheless is an exciting time to take a glance at new players and youngsters vying for first team involvement.

So far, however, only one new face has walked through the Emirates doors. The summer transfer window is going to be a busy one for Arsenal even if it’s yet to take off, with Albert Sambi Lokonga an isolation period way from being announced and the pursuit of Ben White hotting up towards its now ‘imminent‘ conclusion.

There will be some absentees for the tour, with the obvious one being Bukayo Saka. Following his glorious efforts with England at Euro 2020 the 19-year-old will be granted three weeks’ rest which will see him return after the home clash with Chelsea in The Mind Series and just before the following clash with Tottenham.

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Arsenal vs Hibernian: 5 players to look out for in pre-season clash as Mikel Arteta prepares his side for Tuesday’s meeting

It’s unlikely he’ll play any part though and will surely miss the opening fixtures of the coming season as he builds up his fitness. He deserves all the time off he can get.

Bernd Leno and Kieran Tierney will also be later arrivals after their own international excursions, with the same applying to Lucas Torreira who was away with Uruguay at Copa America and Granit Xhaka who got to the European Championship quarter-finals with Switzerland.

How many of those secure moves away before they head back to north London remains to be seen.

A squad of around 30 has made the trip to Edinburgh but there are some prominent Under-23 absentees who won’t be playing part. Among them is Miguel Azeez, someone tipped for more first team involvement next season. The Under-23 side – to be led by Ryan Garry and Ken Gillard until a full-time manager is appointed – have a few friendlies to come and many of the players, like Ben Cottrell and Nikolaj Moller, are set for loan departures this summer window.

There are some faces to look out for against Hibernian, though; a few exciting options due for minutes under Mikel Arteta. Here are five of them.

1. Arthur Okonkwo – Goalkeeper

Now an official first team squad member, Arthur Okonkwo will get his chance to impress in Scotland with the current goalkeeper situation opening the door for some valuable minutes.

As mentioned, Leno is still enjoying some time off after Germany reached the last 16 of the Euros, and with Mat Ryan no longer at the club and officially signing for Real Sociedad, it leaves only Runar Alex Runarsson and him as the senior options.

Even then, the Icelandic goalkeeper is set to imminently joining Altay S.K. in Turkey on a deal that may very well be permanent. The deal is still to be finalised but it’s no secret that he doesn’t have a long-term future with Arsenal and he is not part of the squad in Scotland.

Given Leno is still away and with Runarsson not present it will mean minutes for the newly signed keeper, although they may be shared with three other options present, Hein, Hillson and Smith.

A big opportunity for the 19-year-old.

2. Omar Rekik – Centre-Back

Having gone into the summer window feeling there was no great need for a centre-back (there was), or at least that it wasn’t a priority position, Arsenal are now kicking off their pre-season preparations with…two of them. At least senior options, that is.

With William Saliba touching down in Marseille on Tuesday as he edges closer to signing a season-long loan deal with the Ligue 1 side that includes no option to buy, and with Gabriel out for an undisclosed length of time with a knee injury, Arsenal are short.

Ben White is a move that will be ramped up now the Euros are over but even if he does sign as expected he will earn some time off given England’s route to the final. He may not have played a single minute but he was still training every day just like Saka.

All of which leaves Rob Holding and Pablo Mari left. Being the only senior options for the Scotland tour it opens the door for Omar Rekik to make his non-competitive first team debut.

Joining Arsenal back in January, Rekik only made one appearance for the Under-23’s due to injury but is still very highly rated at London Colney. Just 19 years old, he already has a senior cap for Tunisia and comes into pre-season fully fit.

Set to be primarily an Under-23 selection next season, the chance to impress Arteta against Hibernian and Rangers could help his chances of senior squad inclusions for future FA Cup and Carabao Cup matches.

3. Nuno Tavares – Left-Back

The man everyone is most keen on watching on Tuesday, seeing Nuno Tavares in Arsenal colours will be the main talking point pre and post kick-off.

Signed for a £7.2m fee, just like Rekik this training camp poses an opportunity for minutes for the left-back with Tierney not yet returning from his holidays to join the squad.

Of course, Sead Kolasinac is back at the club, but it sure does feel weird for that to be the case. Still an Arsenal player, by all accounts the loan to Schalke 04 felt like a permanent move.

Depending on how the game pans out, it might be that the pair get one half each or that Tavares is a late inclusion, even if fans would prefer to see him given the majority of the evening’s fixture to show his qualities.

Extremely attack-minded, there is even scope for him to play further forward in a left-winger role and it isn’t entirely out of the question that Arteta uses more than one formation given it’s only a training match. If so, a 3-4-3 with Tavares at left wing-back could be in use.

Nonetheless, all eyes will be on the 21-year-old.

4. Joe Willock – Central Midfield

Reports have begun to emerge that Joe Willock is set to stay at Arsenal with the Gunners due to shun the advances of interested parties unless a ‘crazy’ offer makes its way to north London – and it’s money Newcastle don’t look like having.

Those reports have been followed up by The Northern Echo, who add that Arteta looks increasingly likely to keep the Hale Ender this summer. It’s just reward for his sensational loan spell with the Magpies but also likely to be due to feasibility this window.

Selling Willock, while financially beneficial, would force Arteta to bring in an even greater number midfielders to supplement the large amount of departures, a formidable task considering not one has be signed thus far.

What will be interesting with Willock is how he’s used. The main concerns about keeping hold of him are suitability: does Arteta switch to a 4-3-3 to accommodate him or does he need more time to practice as one half of a double pivot?

Pre-season should offer an indication of what is in the manager’s mind for Willock. While we can never delve too deeply into formations and the like, individual roles can be looked at and the midfielder will be watched closely.

Equally, if it looks as if the 21-year-old struggles to find his niche alongside Thomas Partey or in Arteta’s system then it could prompt a rethink for this summer window.

5. Folarin Balogun – Striker

The man up top! Having gone from feeling like Folarin Balogun would slip through Arsenal’s grasp, knowing he’s now tied down long-term was the excellent result of April.

Handed the squad No. 26 while up in Scotland for pre-season training, ‘Flo’ still hasn’t been given an official spot in the senior squad unlike Okonkwo.

Yet his shirt has been pictured in the senior dressing room and being given a spare number in the squad suggests it’s a matter of when and not if.

Lacazette and Aubameyang are both in Edinburgh for the Easter Road clash but it would be surprising to not see Balogun given a run out at some point, perhaps even at centre-forward with the captain moving out to the left wing.

While it’s only a small sample size the 20-year-old couldn’t have done any more in the 52 minutes of Europa League action he had, grabbing two goals and an assist across five short cameos.

A loan move was mooted earlier in the year but with Eddie Nketiah due to be sold and Lacazette potentially joining him, it looks certain now that he will stay on and be third choice for the position in the Premier League, with cup matches where he could earn starts.

Every supporter is really excited to see what he can bring in the seasons ahead. Early indications are that it’s going to be goals.