Mikel Arteta put his players through their paces ahead of Arsenal’s clash against PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch giants will host the Gunners at the Philips Stadion in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday night.
Arsenal will be keen to return to winning ways after a defeat to West Ham and a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest. The North Londoners have struggled to impress recently, though they’ve been without a senior striker.
In the absence of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, who are both currently nursing injuries, Mikel Merino has been operated as a makeshift frontman. While the Eredivisie champions may fancy their chances against a depleted side, Arsenal remain a force to be reckoned with.
So, with that being said, football.london has looked at five things that you may have missed from training before the Gunners jetted off to the Netherlands.
Arsenal players in good spirits
The Arsenal players seemed to be in good spirits at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Monday. Ahead of what is a huge clash in the wider context of the Gunners’ season, Arteta relaxed his squad with some fun warmup drills and team-building games.
Arteta drops team news hint
During one session, Arteta was snapped holding a small piece of paper – which seemed to have a starting lineup on it. It could have either been for a particular drill or maybe even the team for Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the scribbles and highlighter markings are illegible, but it certainly looks to be a formation or setup or some sort.