‘Arteta should not dare to start Him today, or I will drop my captain badge.’ Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard is planning to remove his captain’s armband if Arteta, a £60 million player, starts after his poor performance against West Ham.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been putting his squad through their paces ahead of their return to Premier League action.
Arsenal will face Burnley at Turf Moor at 3 p.m. in the Premier League, looking to make it five victories in a row.
Arsenal are ecstatic after cruising to a 6-0 victory over West Ham last week, preserving their perfect Premier League record in 2024.
Meanwhile, Burnley hasn’t won since before Christmas and fell to Liverpool last time out, despite drawing two of their last four games.
On Friday, the Arsenal media team released images of its players in training, and several youth players were seen participating.
One of these is Mauro Bandeira, who has performed well for the Gunners at the junior level and appears to be ready for the next stage.
He appeared prominently in the images, including one when he is vying with Martin Odegaard for the ball.
Arsenal academy standout Mauro Bandeira – Factfile
The 20-year-old joined Arsenal at the Under-16 level and has progressed through the levels to become a regular for the Under-21s.
In 2022, Bandeira signed his first professional contract with his childhood club. According to Transfermarkt, the Arsenal star has made 66 youth appearances for the club.
Earlier this season, Bandeira was loaned to League Two club Colchester United, where he appeared in 11 games across all competitions.
However, he returned to Arsenal in January. He had a knee injury while on loan and did not play much after regaining fitness.
Bandeira, described by Gunners development guru Jeorge Bird as a ‘all-action midfielder’, appears to be a highly interesting player with a promising future in the game.
It’s encouraging to see him engaged in Arsenal senior training sessions, and perhaps he’ll make his debut before the conclusion of the season.