Mikel Arteta has handed six additional Hale End academy players the opportunity to train with Arsenal's first team, while Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori were absent ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup clash against Fleetwood Town.

According to a report by Football London on Monday, 26 October 2026, the Arsenal manager invited several young prospects to participate in preparations for the fourth-round encounter as he considers rotating his squad.

Andre Harriman-Annous, Ceadach O'Neill, Marcell Washington, Theo Julienne, Igor Tyjon and Ife Ibrahim joined Max Dowman and Marli Salmon in first-team training at the Sobha Realty Training Ground.

However, several of the academy players could be unavailable for the Fleetwood fixture because Arsenal's Under-21 side are scheduled to face AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Trophy.

The match represents the final group-stage fixture, with Arsenal needing a draw to qualify for the knockout rounds, provided Leyton Orient do not defeat Barnet.

Arteta is expected to make changes against the League Two side, although Arsenal will be keen to avoid an upset as they continue their pursuit of the Carabao Cup trophy.

Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor has urged his players to approach the occasion with confidence despite facing the reigning Premier League champions.

"The champions are coming to town on our patch, and it's on telly, so if you can't get up for this game, you can't get up for any game. The players need to be excited for it, but while respect is through the roof, the fear can't be," Lawlor said.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was not pictured in the latest training images. The Brazilian defender did not appear to suffer an injury during Arsenal's recent victory over Everton, suggesting that his absence could be related to workload management ahead of a busy run of fixtures.

Calafiori was also missing after experiencing a minor issue during the Everton match. The Italy international came on as a substitute but appeared to experience discomfort late in the game.

Arteta confirmed after the match that the defender had reported a problem, although its severity was not yet known.

"Yeah, I wasn’t that mad to change those two from their positions. It was because he had a slight issue; we don't know what it is. It seems to be something very small, but he was cautious about it," the Arsenal manager explained.