Why Arsenal youngster Scanlon cannot play against Bayern Munich

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James Scanlon has impressed since arriving at Arsenal in the summer, but the 20 year old winger will not be able to feature in the Champions League this season, including against Bayern Munich, due to a little known UEFA eligibility rule.

Scanlon joined Arsenal on a free transfer from Manchester United, with a significant sell on clause included in the deal. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Swindon in League Two and has already made 28 senior international appearances for Gibraltar.

Since joining the Arsenal U21s, Scanlon has been in strong scoring form, netting three goals in four Premier League 2 appearances. That form is notable given the situation out wide in Arteta's first team, with Christos Tzolis sidelined through a hamstring injury and Eberechi Eze still searching for consistency on the left.

Training with the first team

Scanlon has trained with Mikel Arteta's senior squad on several occasions this season and was one of only a handful of academy players included in the final training session before Arsenal's Champions League clash with Lille last week. During a warm up partner drill, it was Scanlon's back that Martin Odegaard jumped on, a sign of his growing involvement around the first team group.

He is yet to be named in one of Arteta's matchday squads, with teenagers Maalik Hashi and Ceadach O'Neil instead making the bench against Lille. The Carabao Cup trip to Fleetwood could offer Scanlon his first realistic path toward a senior debut.

The B List problem

According to the Evening Standard, Scanlon was not among the 22 players named in Arsenal's A List squad before the Champions League league phase began. Hashi and O'Neil were also left off that list, but both have since been added via the B List, a mechanism that allows clubs to include young players not named in the main squad.

Scanlon cannot be added the same way. UEFA rules state that a player must have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since turning 15, or three consecutive years with a maximum of one year on loan elsewhere in the same association, in order to qualify for the B List. As Scanlon only signed for Arsenal this summer, he does not meet that requirement.

As a result, Scanlon will remain ineligible for every Champions League fixture this season, including the visit of Bayern Munich and Arsenal's home league phase finale against Sabah in January, a game that could present an opportunity for fringe academy players. He will have to wait until February, when clubs are permitted to register up to three new players for the knockout stages, before any chance of involvement in Europe arises. Until then, his route into Arteta's plans will run solely through domestic competitions such as the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.