Arsenal squad announced for 2012/13 Next Gen Series

The provisional - and very long - Arsenal squad for the upcoming Next Gen series has been announced. A squad comprising of 18 of the players below will be chosen on each match day. The Gunners will face Olympiacos, Athletic Bilbao and Marseille in group six, and home fixtures will be played at Barnet's Underhill stadium.

I spoke to U18 star Kris Olsson not too long ago and asked him his thoughts on the tournament. This was his response:

To play against the best teams and players from your age group is always good and it develops you as a footballer. To get an experience to play in front of a crowd and maybe TV is also good, so I am really looking forward to it!

I am sure this is the general consensus around the whole group, and the tournament is a big step in the development of these young players. Here is the squad, as listed on the Next Gen website.

Goalkeepers: 

Reice Charles-Cook - 18

Josh Vickers - 16

Defenders:

Zach Fagan (CB) - 17

Elton Monteiro (CB) - 18

Sead Hajrovic (CB) - 19

Leander Siemann (CB) - 16

Martin Angha (CB) - 18

Arinse Uade (CB) - 16

Tom Dallison (CB) - 16

Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill (LB) - 16

Samir Bihmoutine (LB) - 18

Hector Bellerin (RB) - 17

Nico Yennaris (RB, DM) - 19

Kyle Ebecilio (RB, CM) - 18

Midfielders:

Isaac Hayden (DM) - 17

Jordan Wynter (DM) -18

Kris Olsson (CM) - 17

Jon Toral (CM) - 17

Jack Jebb (CM) - 16

Josh Rees (RM) - 18

Thomas Eisfeld (AM) - 19

Serge Gnabry (AM) - 17

Chuks Aneke (AM) - 19

Forwards:

Phillip Roberts (ST) - 18

Nigel Neita (ST) - 18

Alfred Mugabo (RW) - 16

Tarum Dawkins (RW) - 16

Anthony Jeffrey (LW) - 17

Chuba Akpom (ST) - 16

Austin Lipman (ST) - 16

Zak Ansah (ST) - 18

Benik Afobe (ST) - 19