Arsenal: 4 exciting academy stars who could feature vs Nottingham Forest

Starved of midweek action with the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool being postponed, Arsenal attentions are turned to what is set to be an exciting FA Cup weekend.

As far as glamour ties go, it’s not quite that. Facing a Nottingham Forest side away isn’t the most exhilarating draw, especially for the travelling faithful on a Sunday evening.

It is exciting for other reasons, though, with Mikel Arteta’s thinning squad in need of rotating as they prepare to face Liverpool twice in a week with the small matter of a North London Derby providing the filler for this Merseyside sandwich.

In response, the manager revealed both exciting and worrying updates in his pre-match press conference, confirming that the club would seek to bolster their midfield in the January transfer window with new signings.

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal: 4 exciting academy stars who could feature for Mikel Arteta in FA Cup third round clash

However, the reasons for that are down to being ‘very short’ in the centre of the park, along with ‘issues’ across the rest of the squad as a result of Covid and injuries.

Remaining tight-lipped, one player who looks set to miss out on Sunday is Granit Xhaka, who was not pictured in training for unknown reasons.

One man’s loss is another man’s gain, however; especially in the world of football where competition is rife. Arsenal have three colossal matches against Liverpool (x2) and Tottenham coming up, meaning there is real scope for some exciting young talent to be involved against Nottingham Forest. So long as they aren’t the absent ones, that is.

So who could be in line for some minutes in the FA Cup? For some, it could be their first ever senior outings.

1. Omari Hutchinson

Omari Hutchinson is someone many supporters got their first look of back in the summer when he was included in the squad that took part in a mini pre-season tour of Scotland.

Starting out as a left-back, Hutchinson’s attacking prowess and superb technical quality quickly saw him moved up into advanced positions, and at the tender age of 18 years old already boasts ability beyond his years.

Operating either operating out wide or as a No.10, he is most suited to playing as a winger where he’s registered five goals and six assists for the Arsenal Under-23 side in 14 outings.

With Bukayo Saka not having Nicolas Pepe to share the minutes with over this busy spell of matches, Hutchinson is in with a real shout of earning some playing time against Nottingham Forest out on the right. He can fit in across the forward line, but with the star boy needing all the rest he can get ahead of three crunch matches over one week, it’s his position Hutchinson could be involved in.

Already promoted to a higher age group, Hutchinson is often invited up to train with the first team and has been doing so regularly this season, including in the days leading up to Sunday’s fixture. However, with him starting in Friday night’s Under-23 clash against Brighton, there is a strong possibility he will now miss out.

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