While summer speculation tends to focus on a team's transfer activity, the preseason period also provides an opportunity for young players to make the step up. At Arsenal, summer tours have given chances to the likes of Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi, who both went on to graduate to the first team on a full-time basis. This year is no different, as there are seven young Gunners hoping to make an impression in Australia and China.
Two come as no surprise. At the end of last season, Arsene Wenger name-checked both Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles as players likely to step up to the first team next season. Maitland-Niles has already had a good summer, having been part of the England Under-20 squad that won the World Cup in South Korea. Although he made several cameos with Arsenal's senior side last season, he is expected to feature more regularly in 2017-18. One of his strongest assets is his versatility, and as well as covering in central midfield he has the capacity to fill in for either of the two wing-backs.
Nelson is a more attacking player who is comfortable operating either as a No. 10 or out wide. He has effectively been promoted on account of Chris Willock's departure to Benfica. Arsenal are understandably disappointed to lose Willock but believe Nelson to have just as much creative potential. Willock's younger brother, Joe, is another member of the touring squad.
Perhaps the most engaging story is that of left-back Cohen Bramall. At 21, he's actually the oldest of the current crop of youth team hopefuls -- Bramall is something of a late starter. After all, it was only six months ago that a successful trial saw him plucked from non-league Hednesford Town. He subsequently went straight into Arsenal's U23 side, and hasn't looked back since. Bramall looks like a natural as an overlapping full-back, and his electric pace makes him reminiscent of Gael Clichy and Kieran Gibbs at a similar age. The arrival of Sead Kolasinac won't help his first-team chances, but if he could force his way into the senior setup this season it would complete a truly remarkable tale.
While Bramall took some time to rise to the top, Krystian Bielik was playing top-flight football in Poland at the age of 16. Unsurprisingly, that brought him to the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs, and ultimately it was Arsenal who shelled out around £2 million to bring the promising holding midfielder to England. Since then, he's played most of his football as a ball-playing centre-half, including a successful loan spell at Birmingham City last season. Bielik is expected to go out on loan again ahead of the new season, but before that Wenger will have the chance to assess how he might fit into Arsenal's new back three look.
Donyell Malen is another teenager Arsenal recruited from the continent. The forward joined from Ajax in the summer of 2015 and has already been coached by two of the greatest strikers in Arsenal's history. In Holland, he trained under the watchful eye of Dennis Bergkamp, before honing his craft under Thierry Henry during his time with Arsenal's U19s. Malen has since stepped up to the U23s, where he has continued to impress with his pace, movement and finishing ability.
Those are similar to the qualities that have made Eddie Nketiah such a sensation in the Arsenal academy. He has risen rapidly through the ranks, showcasing a natural poacher's instinct at every age group. Goals at youth level do not necessarily always translate to the first team -- the likes of Arturo Lupoli, Benik Afobe and Chuba Akpom all showed plenty of promise only to fail to adapt to senior football. However, Arsenal fans yearn for a homegrown striker to break through, and right now Nketiah looks the most likely candidate. If he did succeed in North London, it would be particularly sweet given that he was released by rivals Chelsea at age 16.
Preseason proper begins with a friendly against Sydney FC on Thursday, and all seven of these players will be desperate to seize the chance to catch Wenger's eye. Arsenal may have headed Down Under, but these young Gunners are very much on the rise.