Arsenal Pre-Season Preparations: Key Players Returning and Upcoming Fixtures
Arsenal’s summer is already in full swing. The real noise, though, starts next week.
Mikel Arteta has had a stripped-back group to work with at the Sobha Realty Training Centre since Monday, the official start of pre-season after a low-key camp in Marbella. No World Cup stars, no headline names. Just a hungry core and a manager drilling details.
For now, it’s the supporting cast and the returning loanees carrying the workload.
Early birds and second chances
Ethan Nwaneri, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira are all back in the fold after loan spells, using these early sessions to convince Arteta they belong in his plans rather than on another temporary move or the fringes of the squad.
Cristhian Mosquera has reported in with a clear opportunity in front of him. With William Saliba sidelined for the next few months, the young defender knows this pre-season is a live audition to plug one of the most important gaps in the side.
New goalkeeper Illan Meslier has joined his teammates for the first time, bedding into a dressing room that will expect him to adapt quickly. Marli Salmon and Max Dowman are among the academy faces promoted into the main group, tasting first-team intensity at London Colney.
Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Gabriel Jesus have all been involved, as has Ben White, whose presence is one of the most encouraging sights of the week.
Ben White back, Timber cautious
White missed the run-in last season with a knee problem, but his rehabilitation has tracked exactly as Arsenal hoped. He trained in Marbella, has stepped back in with the group at London Colney and looks on course to be ready when the serious games arrive.
Jurrien Timber is also back with the squad, though not yet at full tilt. After minor groin surgery, his return is being managed carefully. Arsenal know the cost of rushing him; they will not repeat last year’s mistakes.
The first official pre-season fixture, against Girona on August 1, will come at an important moment in the build-up. By then, the first wave of World Cup players will have reported back.
World Cup contingent drip-feeding back
Every player who went to the World Cup is entitled to at least three weeks off. After a relentless club season and a summer tournament, Arsenal may stretch that rest period for some.
Kai Havertz is the first big name due back. Germany’s exit in the round of 32 means his three-week break is up, and he has already been keeping himself sharp by training at former club Bayer Leverkusen.
Piero Hincapie and Viktor Gyokeres have also completed their three-week holidays and are expected to rejoin the group next week.
Brazil’s Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli went a little deeper into the tournament, but they too are scheduled to be back at the start of next week and are likely to be part of the travelling party for the Spain trip, which includes that Girona match.
Martin Odegaard will have to wait. The Arsenal captain reached the quarter-finals with Norway before losing to England on July 11, so his three-week window pushes his return into the week commencing August 3. That rules him out of the Girona game and makes the next leg of pre-season his starting point.
Dublin, Dortmund, Como – then the sprint
Once Odegaard is back, Arsenal’s schedule tightens. They head to Dublin to face Real Betis two days after he is due to report back, then host Borussia Dortmund and Como in quick succession.
Eight Arsenal players went all the way to the final weekend of the World Cup. Their pre-season will be a blur. August 10 is the earliest they can rejoin training, just six days before the Community Shield against Manchester City.
That leaves 11 days from their first session back to the Premier League opener at home to Coventry on August 21. It is a narrow runway for players expected to carry the team across a long campaign.
Some, though, arrive with lighter legs. David Raya and Martin Zubimendi barely played at the tournament and should be ready to hit the ground running. Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino saw more minutes, but none endured a brutal schedule.
The Rice and Saka dilemma
Arsenal’s biggest calls this summer are not about transfers or tactics. They are about how hard to push two of their most important players.
Declan Rice has been managing neural pain in his hamstring for more than six months. He also battled sickness during the World Cup. The temptation will be to get him back into the rhythm of training as soon as possible; the risk is obvious.
Bukayo Saka is in a similar boat. Thomas Tuchel admitted during the tournament that Saka was still playing through the pain of an Achilles issue, and his minutes were managed with that in mind.
Both will be assessed on their return to London. Arsenal must decide whether to accelerate them into pre-season or press pause and give them the extra rest their bodies may need.
The squad is filtering back, the fixtures are looming, and the margins at the top of the Premier League are as fine as ever. For Arteta, the next few weeks are not just about drills and friendlies; they are about how much he dares to ask of Rice and Saka before the real battle begins.
