Arsenal boss Unai Emery has named his 25-man squad for the forthcoming Europa League campaign, but at first glance the list is missing three key players and there is a very good reason why.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Eddie Nketiah and 18-year-old Emile Smith-Rowe are all excluded from the list, as they can be placed on the club's B list because they fall under certain UEFA requirements.
As quoted by Football London, UEFA rules state: "A player may be registered on List B if he is born on, or after, 1 January 1997 and has been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday (players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years).
"Clubs are entitled to register an unlimited number of players on List B during the season, but the list must be submitted by no later than 24:00CET the day before a match."
This ruling means the trio can still be involved in Arsenal's matches in the Europa League, but Emery must submit their names a day before a game in order for them to play.
It came as a shock that youngster Smith-Rowe was not included in the list at first, given Emery had not allowed the midfielder to go out on loan. He lit up the Gunners' pre-season, with a smashing effort from outside the box against Atletico Madrid in the International Champions Cup his biggest contribution.
Emery is likely to utilise his squad in the Europa League group stages, with Maitland-Niles and Nketiah making a number of appearances in the competition last season for Arsenal.