Arsenal will be involved in the newly formatted Football League Trophy for the first time in history, after the tournament structure was made official today.
The English Football League have included Arsenal as one of 15 Premier League academy teams to feature in the competition formerly known as the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
New guidelines mean the young Gunners will have the chance to compete against some of the best first-team clubs in both League One and League Two.
The EFL Trophy is designed to test the strength of lower league squads depth, and allows clubs to bring through either youngsters or senior players who are lacking game time.
In what is a first for the tournament, teams will be placed into regional group stages, with the top two teams advancing into the knockout stages where a place at Wembley awaits the finalists.
Arsenal stand as one of the academy teams in the tournament and must field at least six Under 21 players, which means there will be even more to fight for in the youth ranks.
The changes are likely to be welcomed by youth managers across the Premier League, with Thierry Henry and Steve Bould key figures to be coaching the Under 18’s at Arsenal this season.
Arsene Wenger recently invited the likes of Reiss Nelson and Jeff Renne-Adelaide to train with the first team ahead of their pre-season tour to USA, and you can see the best pictures here.
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