Declan Rice headlines Arsenal squad for USA tour but Nicolas Pepe among notable absentees | OneFootball
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eclan Rice has been named in Arsenal’s travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the United States, though Cedric Soares, Nicolas Pepe and Albert Sambi Lokonga are among the most notable players left behind by Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners, who drew 1-1 with FC Nurnberg in Germany on Friday, are flying out to the US this afternoon, where they are due to face an MLS All-Star XI coached by Wayne Rooney at Audi Field in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.
Arsenal then move on to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to meet Premier League rivals Manchester United on July 22, before closing their tour against Barcelona at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles four days later.
Arteta has now named his squad for the trip, headlined as expected by Rice, who finally completed his club-record £105million transfer from West Ham and trained at London Colney for the first time on Saturday.
He is joined by fellow new signings Jurrien Timber, who officially signed from Ajax in a £40m deal on Friday, and Kai Havertz, who made his debut against Nurnberg after a £65m switch from Chelsea completed last month.
The rest of the travelling squad is very familiar, with Arsenal confirming that they expected the likes of Thomas Partey, who has been linked with a summer exit from the Emirates, and Emile Smith Rowe to join their team-mates Stateside next week.
The club added that “the players who are not part of the squad will be working hard on their fitness and/or recovering from injury”.
Among the players not heading across the Atlantic are Cedric, Pepe and Lokonga, all of whom are expected to leave Arsenal before the summer transfer window closes.
However, Belgian midfielder Lokonga, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Crystal Palace, missed the trip
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