Arsenal wonderkid Lino Sousa spotted in first-team training ahead of pre-season tour

Arsenal wonderkid Lino Sousa has been spotted training with the first-team following the players' return to London Colney.

Monday marked the first day back for the Arsenal players following an excellent 2022/23 campaign which saw them finish second in the Premier League behind Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta's pre-season tour gets underway against Nurnberg in in 10 days time before facing Premier League rivals Manchester United on July 22.

And among the players who could be involved is 18-year-old left-back Sousa.

The Portugal Under-21 international joined Arsenal from West Brom in January 2022, where he has gone on to impress within the academy set-up, making 28 appearances across all competitions last term and providing three assists.

And his form has clearly caught the eye of his manager, who has decided to call up the youngster to train with the first team.

Sousa was pictured in Arsenal's Instagram post and was the only academy player to feature.

Indeed, it is not the first time Sousa has been promoted to first-team training, having been pictured with the squad ahead of Premier League clashes against Brighton and Brentford last season.

Supporters will be excited by the prospect of a new defender in the team, but there were plenty of old faces also present at London Colney.

Which other players were pictured at training?

Other notable players at training included Cedric Soares, Rob Holding and Marquinhos.

Cedric has been heavily rumoured with a move away from the Emirates after a disappointing loan spell with Fulham where he made just three Premier League starts since arriving in January.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are eager to sign defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax which would all but diminish Cedric's chances of making it back into the team

Elsewhere, Rob Holding has been rumoured with a move away from north London, with Galatasaray among his potential suitors.

Marquinhos was also pictured after returning from his loan at Championship side Norwich, less than a year since joining the Gunners last summer.

Topics: Arsenal, Premier League, Football, Mikel Arteta

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno