Mikel Arteta insists EVERYONE in his 33-strong roster gets the chance to fight for the future of Arsenal… with the Gunners boss taking on the challenge of beating stars like Nicolas Pepe to seize opportunities
Every player in Arsenal’s squad has a ‘clean slate’, says Mikel Arteta
The Gunners boss is ready to give every player the chance to prove his worth
Arteta has taken an oversized squad of 33 for the pre-season trip to Baltimore
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Mikel Arteta insists everyone in his bloated Arsenal squad can have a future at the club.
The Arsenal boss ended last season with a hollowed-out squad of around 17 after selling fringe players and shifting senior figures such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Several players, such as Hector Bellerin and Lucas Torreira, seemed destined for the exit after returning from loan spells this summer, while the likes of Bernd Leno and Nicolas Pepe are expected to leave.
Mikel Arteta unwilling to rule out a player as he has his eye on his side this summer
But Arteta included them in his oversized, 33-strong touring party for this pre-season trip to the States and the manager said everyone gets a chance to prove his worth.
“The message is: this is a different season and everyone is off to a clean start,” he said.
“Show us what you can do on the pitch, how you’re going to behave with your teammates, are you going to make the car faster – yes or no?
Nicolas Pepe looks set to leave, but he will be one of 33 in the US who will play their case
“If you do, you’ll have the chance to be here… that I send a different message to the group was very, very inconsistent with what we’re demanding.
“So they’re in the group, or not.
“They’re part of us, they’re signed to the club, we want to get the best out of them and right now they’re with us, so we’re going to treat them like that.”
That is despite Arteta’s insistence that Arsenal want to add new faces this summer.
Hector Bellerin has returned from a loan and will have the chance to prove his worth
His roster already includes summer signings such as Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to switch from Manchester City.
Having so many players on tour could pose a problem for the manager as he prepares for the upcoming Premier League season.
But Arteta insisted: “We’ve made it practical so far and at the same time we have very, very good people – they gave everything when they play, when they don’t play and when we don’t use them.”