He has been named alongside some other equally impressive talents, such as Sergio Asenjo and Bojan Krkic in a very strong line-up.

The Spanish squad in full:

• Sergio Asenjo Andrés (Atletico)
• Álvaro Domínguez Soto (Atletico)

• Francisco Mérida Serrano (Arsenal)

• Óscar De Marcos Arana (Athletic Bilbao)

• Andreu Fontás Prat (Barcelona)
• Oriol Romeu Vidal (Barcelona)
• Bojan Krkic Pérez (Barcelona)

• Aarón Ñíguez Esclapez (Celta Vigo)
• Jose Luis Mato Sanmartín (Celta Vigo)

• Didac Vila Roselló (Espanyol)

• Daniel Parejo Muñoz (Getafe)

• Tomás Mejías Osorio (Real Madrid)

• César Azpilicueta Tanco (Osasuna)

• Emilio Nsue López (Real Sociedad)

• Alberto Botía Rabasco(Sporting Gijon)

• José Ángel Valdés Díaz (Sporting Gijon)

• Jordi Alba Ramos (Valencia)

• Diego Mariño Villar (Villareal)

• Marcos Gullón Ferrera (Villareal)

• Víctor Laguardia Cisneros (Zaragoza)
• Ander Herrera Agüera (Zaragoza)

Sanchez Watt has progressed rapidly in the last year, from a decent young player to a talented starlet with a big future. In particular the Youth Cup wining run last season saw the leggy forward become one of the stars of the latest generation of Academy graduates with his fantastic work rate and classy finishing becoming vital to his side. Scoring a few goals along the way, he has entered this season with a real chance of getting the nod for the Carling Cup side despite massive competition in the forward ranks and his inclusion ahead of Nacer Barazite and Gilles Sunu for the Emirates Cup could be a hint at a possible selection.

“You have to work hard. Arsène Wenger watches you off the ball too, so you have to be switched on; tactically and mentally.

I hope to be picked but I haven’t got too much word about it. I’m just going to keep on trying and if I get the shout, I’ll try my best.”

With so many youngsters hoping for their opportunity, along with more established squad members looking for games, there will be inevitable disappointment in the Arsenal camp once the team for the tie at the Emirates Stadium has been selected.

“There’s going to be a lot of sad faces. It’s about whoever is hot at that precise moment, and whoever gets that chance to do well.”

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Another player definitely in the mix for a Carling Cup spot is the Spanish midfielder Fran Merida, and today he has given the reasons behind his decision to stay at the club this year rather than try and gain some experience by taking up one of the loan options available to him.

“I am 100 per cent staying. It is true that I had an option to go out on loan but me, the boss, my agent and my family decided that the best thing for me is to stay here.  The boss told me he believes in me and the only thing I can do now is prove it on the pitch and repay that faith.

“My target is to help as much as possible to get trophies. I truly believe we have a fantastic chance. We have started well, we must keep that going because we haven’t done anything yet.”

With the Spaniard staying put and so many players ahead of him for a midfield place for Wenger’s side, the Barcelona-born player will be getting plenty of minutes for the reserve side. He starred in the 4-0 demolition of Birmingham last week and Merida says that he welcomes the chance to turn out for Banfield’s team.

“Everytime you get the chance to play in the Reserves it is good because you keep your match fitness. I know Neil has confidence in me and if he tells me to play for the Reserves I am more than happy.

“Personally it’s just about training hard, taking any chances I am given and doing my best for the team. Hopefully the season can be great for Arsenal.”

“Wenger has spoken with Fran and was very clear with him“, Joseba Diaz stated. “The season will be very long and he could be needed at Arsenal, so there is no chance of a move.”

The Spaniard has been hadned the number 46 shirt for this season and the 19 year old is positive about the season ahead:

“The fact that the coach wants me to stay has given me a lot of confidence and that is very important for me. From this moment I will be giving my all to earn an opportunity in the first-team.”

Arsenal have two representatives in the shortlist with Spain’s Fran Merida and England’s Henri Lansbury both making the list.  With three goals and more than four assists on England’s path to the final Lansbury showed that the loan spell at Scunthorpe has helped him regain the confidence that injuries appeared to have taken away from him and he will hope to gain further experience this season with several clubs interested in taking him on loan. Fran Merida’s tournament was not quite as successful as despite an excellent qualification campaign from the Spaniard he struggled to really shine as Spain were dumped out in the group stage. Still, Fran’s excellent showing in the Emirates Cup upon his return suggests his talent could see him get a place in the Arsenal squad in seasons to come.

Aston Villa’s Nathan Delfouneso was the other English talent who made the list while Manchester United were represented in the shortlist by Adem Ljajic of Serbia.

The full list can be seen below:

• Sébastien Corchia (France)
• Nathan Delfouneso (England)
• Denys Garmash (Ukraine)
• Henri Lansbury (England)
• Adem Ljajić (Serbia)
• Fran Mérida (Spain)
• Kyrylo Petrov (Ukraine)
• Matej Radan (Slovenia)
• Tunay Torun (Turkey)
• Sébastien Wüthrich (Switzerland)