Football NewsNuno Tavares is expected to debut at Arsenal
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Nuno Tavares is expected to make his Arsenal debut this week when Mikel Arteta’s side hosts Hibernian in their first pre-season friendlies of the summer.

 

Arsenal takes a large squad with them

The Gunners left their London training base Colney on Monday morning for a five-day training camp in Scotland. They will play two games during their stay north of the border, with a match against the Rangers on Saturday following their encounter with Hibernian on Easter Road on Tuesday night.

Arsenal is bringing a large squad with them for training camp, and several youngsters travel with the club’s senior players. Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang traveled, as did Emile Smith Rowe, Nicolas Pepe and Thomas Partey.

Nuno Tavares, whose transfer from Benfica was confirmed on Saturday, is also in the lineup and is expected to perform for the first time during the meeting with Hibernian. Other high profile players include Cedric Soares, Hector Bellerin, Sead Kolasinac, Rob Holding, Joe Willock, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers.

 

Who won’t be with the roster?

Players who have been with their national teams during the summer will not be with the squad as they were given extra time off to recover. Bukayo Saka will now have three weeks off after England’s final defeat at Euro 2020, while Kieran Bernd Leno, Tierney, Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka are still on vacation.

Albert Lokonga, who is close to signing for Arsenal from Anderlecht, will not be able to complete his move in time to play a role in the Scottish training camp. The Belgian midfielder had his own medical but must now go through a period of isolation due to the Covid regulations before completing his move to Emirates Stadium. William Saliba is another player not expected to be involved, with the defender close to moving to Marseille.