When Arsenal’s Euro 2024 Stars Return for Pre-Season and How It Affects the US Tour
When Arsenal’s Euro 2024 Stars Return for Pre-Season and How It Affects the US Tour
Pre-season has officially begun with several Arsenal players having returned to the club, but Mikel Arteta’s squad is still not all together.
A number of first-team Arsenal stars returned to London Colney yesterday for the first day of pre-season.
For many, this was not in fact the true start of their preparations for the new campaign. Earlier in the summer, Mikel Arteta hosted a training camp in Marbella. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has already discussed the positive impact that their time in the Spanish coastal city had.
Odegaard was amongst those in training again yesterday, along with ten of his teammates: Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Thomas Partey, Eddie Nketiah, Karl Hein, Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jesus.
None of these players took part in an international tournament this summer, unlike many of their teammates, who will subsequently be delayed in reporting back for club duty.
When will all Arsenal players be back for pre-season?
Football players have to have a break, so those who took part at Euro 2024 or in the Copa America will now be granted a holiday period.
Over the course of the next few weeks, players will return to Arsenal in dribs and drabs, depending on when their involvement at a summer tournament ended.
It is worth noting that Kieran Tierney came back to Arsenal some weeks ago after sustaining an injury at Euro 2024.
The Gunners’ four Euro 2024 finalists, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale, and David Raya, will be the last to arrive. As reported by Football.London, this quartet have now all been afforded a three week break.
Arteta is already working on a plan for how to reintegrate Saka and the rest of Arsenal’s Euro 2024 finalists back into the fold.
Meanwhile, the likes of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior will all return sooner. A few could even arrive back in time to take part in the US tour.
Arsenal preparing for pre-season tour of the USA
Arsenal will fly out to the States on Sunday, before taking part in a number of friendlies around the country. The Gunners will begin against Bournemouth and Manchester United in Los Angeles, before taking on Liverpool in Philadelphia.
Of course, above all, these games are fitness-building exercises, and an opportunity for the club to engage with its fans in America. However, Arteta will expect strong performances and there may well be evidence of tactical tweaks since last season already clear to see.
What’s more, as a significant chunk of the senior squad won’t be available to take part in the tour, the manager may well hand plenty of game time to promising Hale End academy talents such as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Hein will almost certainly feature between the sticks, too, with Raya and Ramsdale on holiday.
