Who is Tommy Setford? - Arsenal goalkeeper Ajax never wanted to lose before Mikel Arteta pursuit
by Tom Canton · football.londonArsenal take on Preston in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night as Mikel Arteta navigates the first of four away games in a row. With trips to Newcastle, Inter Milan and Chelsea to come, the Gunners will want to kick off this challenging quartet of games with a win.
Tommy Setford, the current third-choice Arsenal goalkeeper, is in contention to make his first Arsenal start of the season. Mikel Arteta admitted in his pre-match press conference that he will be rotating his squad for the clash, giving hope to the likes of Setford for some minutes.
"It is important," Arteta said when asked about rotation. "There are players who haven't played that much, and they will have their chance tomorrow, that's for sure.
"But you have to earn the right to play and when you have that right, you have to perform, and perform in a way to help impact the team to win the game. That's what we are going to demand of anybody. Whether you are young, you are an experienced player or you've been playing regularly for us."
Jack Porter started for Arsenal in the third round against Bolton with David Raya recovering from an issue suffered at Manchester City, while summer loan signing Neto is cup-tied having already played in the competition for Brentford. Setford was also injured for the game, which prevented him from making his debut.
Setford joined Arsenal in the summer in a permanent move from Ajax for a fee below £1million, with the Dutch side not happy to lose the talented English youth keeper. It was thought he would progress to the senior setup in the coming seasons but decided instead to join Arsenal.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta faces late Arsenal fitness decisions vs Preston amid Carabao Cup dilemma
READ MORE: Nwaneri starts, Saka and Merino rested, Zinchenko returns – Seven Arsenal changes for Preston
The 18-year-old is known for his distribution and confidence as a keeper. His understanding of the game and how he absorbs information is well thought of, and were big factors in the club's decision to sign him.
Setford has played only once for the Arsenal youth side this season, starting in their UEFA Youth League game against Shakhtar Donetsk, which the Gunners lost 1-0. There was little he could do about the goal he conceded, though; a cross from the right was redirected to the bottom corner, wrong-footing the former Ajax man.
Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel
Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!
By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.
To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!
If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.