Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been putting his players through their paces ahead of their Europa League opener on Thursday.
The Gunners get their European campaign under way at 5:45pm BST, against FC Zurich at St Gallen’s Kybunpark.
On Wednesday, Arsenal undertook their last training session ahead of setting off for Switzerland.
Football.london reported that Arteta named a number of academy players in the session.
With Emile Smith Rowe and Cedric Soares reportedly missing training, three midfielders and a full-back from the youth setup took part in the session.
These, according to football.london, were Matt Smith, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Catalin Cirjan and Lino Sousa were all involved.
Smith is a player that many Arsenal fans will be somewhat familiar with.
The 21-year-old made the FA Cup final squad in 2020 ahead of Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi.
‘A player with a great future ahead of him’
Smith joined the Arsenal ranks aged eight and currently plays for their Under-21s.
He has also taken in three loan stints while on the Gunners’ books – at Swindon, Charlton and Doncaster.
The Arsenal website has described him as a ‘technically gifted central midfielder with an impressive passing range’.
As per football.london, coaches at Arsenal have deemed Smith a ‘composed midfielder with an eye for a pass’.
They have also described him as a player who ‘typically looks to operate as a deep-lying playmaker, tasked with controlling the tempo of games and picking out runners in the final third.’
Football.london added: ‘Arteta should be taking notice of Smith. He is a player with a great future ahead of him and he is already making all of the right noises at youth-level.
‘Mesut Ozil’s has recently struggled in the role of being Arsenal’s architect to make things happen and with Smith’s creative ability on the ball he may see himself as a long-term successor for the German.’
Meanwhile, Arsenal youth team expert Jeorge Bird has called him a ‘superb passer’.
And Smith has even been compared to Ozil on Twitter.