Marli Salmon has been very impressive since the start of Arsenal’s pre-season.

The 17-year-old has been a popular name among the fan base for a couple of years, and he made his senior debut for the Gunners last season, while continuing to impress at academy level.

After a great pre-season, Salmon started and played the whole 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup, and he was very, very impressive in that game.

That may have convinced the decision-makers at the club to push him up a level.

After a long international break, Arsenal finally return to action against Leeds United this weekend. But what would you like to see from Mikel Arteta’s side?

It could be from formation to tactics and personnel

Marli Salmon was an established member of the Arsenal U21s squad despite only being 17.

The teenager played regularly in the Premier League 2 last season, and he often caught the eye. Salmon was even compared to William Saliba on several occasions.

Now, despite only being 17 years old, the young defender may have been promoted to the Arsenal senior side under Mikel Arteta.

That’s because the U21s released their official squad photo this week, and Salmon was nowhere to be seen. Even Max Dowman was omitted from that photoshoot.

It’s clear that the latter is in the first team – he was last season as well. Now, it looks like Salmon has officially joined him in the senior setup.

This is a second hint about the teenager’s promotion. Back in August, when the Arsenal first team were having their individual portraits taken by the Premier League, Salmon was present and had his pictures taken.

That all but confirms that he is officially a senior Arsenal player.

When could Marli Salmon get his next senior opportunity?

Arsenal play nine games in the space of 28 days starting from the clash against Leeds United on Saturday.

That is roughly one fixture every three days, which means Arteta’s squad will be stretched. It would be very silly to make the same players play every one of those nine games.

So, we expect to see plenty of rotation over the next month, and that could open the door for young Salmon to get another opportunity or two.

The most obvious game for the teenager is the Carabao Cup clash against Fleetwood Town, which is scheduled to take place on the 27th of October.

Having impressed in the last round against Ipswich, we are convinced Salmon will start this game.