Cedric Soares has been named in Arsenal’s ‘A List’ Champions League squad.
Arsenal have officially confirmed their 25-man ‘A List’ squad to take part in this season’s Champions League competition, and Cedric Soares has made the cut.
UEFA regulations state that Champions League clubs must officially submit their ‘A List’ squads prior to the group stage of the competition kicking off. An ‘A List’ squad must include a maximum of 25 players, and eight players who were at the club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
Other under-21s, who weren’t included in the ‘A List’ group, can still be registered as ‘B List’ players prior to each individual Champions League fixture.
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At 32-years-old, though, Cedric has very much been included as a senior player. However, he is unlikely to be involve heavily on the pitch for the Gunners this season.
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Cedric making up the numbers for Arsenal
Cedric is undeniably surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium. Were it not for the long-term injury sustained by summer signing Jurrien Timber, Mikel Arteta may not have named Cedric in his ‘A List’ squad at all.
The £75,000-a-week full-back only featured four times for the north London club in all competitions last season, before joining Fulham on loan in the January transfer window. However, the 34-cap Portugal international found game time even harder to come by at Craven Cottage.
With the likes of Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and even Thomas Partey ahead of him in the pecking order, Cedric cannot be expecting any significant game time with Arsenal, despite having the versatility to fill on both flanks of the defence.
Cedric has only been involved in this squad to make up the numbers, as a result of Arsenal’s failure to offload him in the recent summer transfer window.
Despite these factors, with his inclusion in this squad, Arteta has somewhat left the door open for Cedric to fight for his place at Arsenal.