And just like that, the second leg of Arsenal’s pre-season is already over. Having spent two weeks preparing at the Sobha Realty training complex, it was a sharp three-match sprint in America for Mikel Arteta’s squad, and now back to London for the final stretch.
There are still two games to go before the Premier League gets back underway again, but those will both be held in more familiar surroundings at the Emirates Stadium. It is Bayer Leverkusen next up and a reunion with Granit Xhaka as the tough fixtures continue to come.
After already playing both Manchester United and Liverpool, there is little letup for Arteta and his side, who have already had to contend with planning around the Euros and Copa America this summer. Just over two weeks out from the return of competitive football, and some of the key men are yet to get back to it.
Bukayo Saka was in the USA but not with his teammates in training and didn’t feature against Liverpool on Wednesday morning. Aaron Ramsdale, having also been in Germany longer than most after England reached the Euro 2024 final, is also away for now.
Declan Rice has been seen training on his own holidays but is yet to rejoin the camp. David Raya and William Saliba are in the same boat despite the latter being knocked out a round earlier in the semi-finals with France.
Other than Ramsdale, this is a core of four starting players who will need to find their mojo quickly in order to slot into the fold in time to get minutes against Leverkusen on Wednesday. Arteta is hopeful that they will be back in training soon enough, though.
