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[Photos] Teenage duo & Welbeck travel as Arsenal squad flies out for Chelsea clash
The Arsenal squad have flown out of London today and are en route to Baku to prepare for next Wednesday night’s Europa League final against Chelsea.
Danny Welbeck is on the plane after the attacker returned to full fitness following several months on the sidelines with a broke ankle that he sustained way back in November 2018.
The 28-year-old is set to leave Arsenal when his contract expires next month but he could yet have an important role to play against Chelsea if Unai Emery chooses to use him – almost certainly from the bench.
Exciting teenage prospects Bukayo Saka and Xavier Amaechi have also been included in the travelling party and, while neither feature in the published photos, I’d expect Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah have also travelled considering their recent involvement in the first team.
Carl Jenkinson and Stephan Lichtsteiner are on the plane but I suspect Ainsley Maitland-Niles will start against Chelsea irrespective of whether Emery lines-up with a back four or with wing-backs.
Mesut Ozil will make the long-haul trip to Azerbaijan having rarely started in the away European games this season so it will be interesting to see if Emery gives the German playmaker a starting role against Chelsea in the final.
The likes of Sokratis, Bernd Leno, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Sead Kolasinac, Nacho Monreal, Mo Elneny and Alex Iwobi are also confirmed in the travelling squad.
None of the club pictures published today appear to show Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but no doubt our strike-duo are both on the plane. We better hope so anyway!
Here are some photos of the boys heading off to prepare for the final against Chelsea: