Arsenal are looking to take down Manchester City after coming very close last season. Mikel Arteta is determined to win Premier League title with Arsenal for the first time since 2004. Currently the transfer market is ongoing. However, Gunners have not made any new signings yet. Their only activity has been turning David Raya’s loan move to permanent. Alongside, Arsenal are focused on preseason games. They will play five friendly matches out of which three will be played in United States.
Gunners will face Bournemouth in their first pre season match. The match will be held in Dignity Health Sports Park which is the official stadium of MLS side LA Galaxy. Later Arsenal will face their arch rivals Manchester United in California. Arsenal’s last match in United States will be against Liverpool. Most Arsenal players will be the part of squad, however some of the top names will miss out the friendlies.
Players missing the pre-season games
Arsenal will be missing some of their top players in pre-season games. Players who played in Copa America and Euro 2024 are currently on a break from football. William Saliba, David Raya, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale are on vacation. They will not be the part of Arsenal’s squad in United States. They will join Arsenal when the all of the squad returns back to London. However Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz will join the squad.
Besides the mentioned players some others stars will miss the games too due to injuries. Kieran Tierney is recovering from hamstring injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu is dealing with knee problems. Both of them will stay at London and continue their rehabilitation. However, Arsenal’s fans in United States can still witness many of their top stars. Mikel Arteta has selected 26 man squad to represent Gunners in United States. The squad will be playing under the captaincy of Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal squad for the preseason games in United States
Karl Hein, Tommy Setford, Lucas Nygaard and Alexei Rojas will feature as goalkeepers. In defense there will be Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jurrien Timber, Josh Nichols, Jakub Kiwior, Ayden Heaven and Omar Rekik.
There will be number of midfield options available for Mikel Arteta. Thomas Partey, Jorginho, Michal Rosiak, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Ethan Nwaneri, Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand and Jimi Gower are the midfielders present. Out of those Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe are linked with moves away from the club.
In forward positions Arsenal have Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Charles Sagoe Jr, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. Jesus was linked with an away move but it seems that he will stay with the club. However his partner Nketiah is very likely to leave. According to reports he has agreed personal terms with Olympique Marseille.
Arsenal squad bulking up
Ahead of preseason games, Arsenal squad is training hard in the gym. It seems that Mikel Arteta is transforming his players. According to Football London, many of the club’s training sessions have been in the temperature above 30°C. The squad is very busy in both gym and on the pitch.
Arsenal have shared some of their preparation posts. They show that the club is training hard in gym and the players are ready to bulk up. Arteta wants his players to be physically fit and win the duels. Arsenal are doing the same as Bayern Munich do with their players. The most suitable example can be of Leon Goretzka. Goretzka transformed into a beast after his move to Bayern Munich from Schalke. Besides him many of Bayern superstars have undergone similar transformation.
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