North London side Arsenal has unveiled the main squad for the Europa League group stage, with a lot of controversy around the decision to leave Mesut Özil, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and William Saliba out.

Unfortunately, the club just don’t have enough spaces available for non-homegrown players. They even had to leave Gabriel Martinelli out, though that doesn’t matter so much given his long-term injury.

There have been a few changes since the initial list came out. Firstly, Dejan Iliev  went on loan and dropped off the list. That doesn’t mean anyone can replace him, as he was a homegrown player and Arsenal don’t have any homegrown players left to add.

Secondly, Arsenal confirmed their Europa League B list – an unlimited list of u21 players with pro deals who have to have been at the club for two years. That part is very important, as it rules out the likes of Martinelli, Saliba, and the summer u23 signings.

The main list is now final for the entire group stage. No one else can join it, even if Arsenal pick up an injury and want to replace someone. However, the B list can change before each individual match, adding new players when they sign professional deals, etc.

Arsenal have done just that, including three new players on the B list. Zane Monlouis, Charlie Patino, and Omari Giraud-Hutchinson are all now in the Arsenal Europa League squad.

Monlouis and Patino both recently signed professional contracts with Arsenal, a requirement to make it into the Europa League squad. The club haven’t announced a deal for Hutchinson, but this effectively confirms he’s getting one.

Monlouis is only 17 and still hasn’t even stepped up to the u23s yet. However, he’s actually the most likely to make it into a matchday squad, as he’s the only B-list centre-back available. None of the u23 centre-backs are eligible.

Patino and Hutchinson are two of the top young talents in the academy, but they both still have a few older players ahead of them before they make the first team.

Arsenal can select players from either of the two lists below on matchday. Let’s have a look at both lists for the upcoming games.

Arsenal Europa League squad Main List

Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno, Rúnar Rúnarsson, Matt Macey, James Hillson

Defenders: Hector Bellerin, Gabriel, Rob Holding, Cedric, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari, David Luiz, Sead Kolasinac, Kieran Tierney

Midfielders: Dani Ceballos, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka

Forwards: Willian, Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal Europa League squad B List

Goalkeepers: Karl Hein, Arthur Okonkwo

Defenders: Joel Lopez, Ryan Alebiosu, Zane Monlouis

Midfielders: Bukayo Saka, Ben Cottrell, Miguel Azeez, Jordan McEneff, Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe, Charlie Patino, Omari Hutchinson

Forwards: Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun