Mikel Arteta praises ‘very positive’ Arsenal trio after under-23 performance

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has praised the attitude of three fringe players ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League clash against Rapid Vienna.

During his media conference with Football London, the manager spoke about how Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock had responded when being asked to feature for the under-23s.

The trio played against Manchester United on Saturday, with Nelson firing Arsenal’s first goal during a 3-3 draw with the Red Devils.

Arteta has made the pathway for younger players clearer but he was quizzed on whether the three would feature more for the under-23s.

He told Football London: “We believe that they were three players who needed some minutes, especially with the international break they didn’t have the chance to play for the countries, so it was almost a three or four-week gap without a game and we want everyone to be in a good rhythm.

“They were very positive about it and they had a really good performance, which is good because we have everybody more prepared to compete when they have an opportunity.”

All three might feel like they will get opportunities throughout the campaign and it remains to be seen if any of them feature tonight.

Arsenal might look to use a rotation policy in Europe and that could allow the out of favour trio a chance to come in and play.

Nelson scoring at the weekend can only put him in good shape when it comes to playing his way into his manager’s thoughts.

The 20-year-old has featured with the £20,000-a-week Willock in the EFL Cup this season, whereas Smith Rowe is still waiting for his first outing of the campaign.