Photo: Arteta calls up ‘amazing’ 18-year-old to Arsenal training pre-Brentford

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been putting his players through their paces ahead of their return to Premier League action.

The Gunners haven’t played a game since 10 February, when they ran out 1-0 winners away at Wolves.

It was a much-needed tonic for Arsenal, who endured a miserable January on the pitch and in the market.

The Gunners were meant to face Chelsea at the weekend, but the game was postponed due to the latter’s Club World Cup participation.

Up next for Arsenal is a home game against Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners will be eager to avenge their opening-day defeat to the newly-promoted side.

On Tuesday, the Arsenal media team shared photos of the team training at London Colney.

Hale End talent Mauro Bandeira also took part in the session and was in some pictures.

Bandeira is an 18-year-old midfielder who joined the Arsenal setup from QPR in 2019.

He is currently playing for the Under-18s, with 12 U18 Premier League appearances and three assists this season.

Bandeira has also made his Under-23s debut this term, playing in the Premier League 2 draw with Brighton on 7 January.

Early last year, he spent some time on the sidelines due to injury, for which he required surgery.

However, Bandeira is back now and continuing to develop into a top talent.

Arsenal youth team expert Jeorge Bird has described him as an “all-action midfielder” who’s “capable of making an impact both in an attacking sense and defensively”.

Some Gunners fans on Twitter have been keeping tabs on Bandeira’s progress and tipping him for big things.

One has predicted that he’ll be an “amazing” player and another has called him “the next baller”.