The Arsenal first team, well, some of them, are back at London Colney today as pre-season officially gets under way, 33 days before the start of the 2026/27 Premier League campaign against Coventry City.
Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff got a head start with an optional fitness camp in Marbella last week, but this is the point where things begin to feel real again. Testing, conditioning, double sessions and, presumably, a healthy dose of star jumps. The holidays are over.
Of course, after 15 Gunners headed to the World Cup, and one of those, Leandro Trossard, subsequently left for Besiktas, the training pitches are looking a little emptier than usual. Add in a handful of injuries and the annual influx of academy players, and it’s a rather different-looking group to the one Arteta hopes will defend the Premier League title next month.
In a video shared on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBEJNGNZsR/), Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson, Ben White and Jurrien Timber were among those filmed arriving at London Colney, where they’ll also begin working with several new additions to Arsenal’s medical and performance departments following the summer reshuffle behind the scenes.
The two right-backs, both forced to miss international duty through injury, offered encouraging updates on their recoveries. White revealed he’d spent the summer “training every day” and said the knee problem he suffered in May’s win over West Ham is now “all good”.
Timber, meanwhile, continues to work his way back from the groin issue that has bothered him since February.
“I’m getting there slowly,” he said. “I’m trying hard, been rehabbing over the summer, hopefully back soon.”
World Cup winners David Raya, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi only finished their international commitments this weekend, while Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and William Saliba were involved in Saturday’s third-place play-off. Saliba didn’t feature because of the back injury that has troubled him for months, and it remains to be seen whether surgery will be required. If he does go under the knife, we may not see the Frenchman again until Christmas.
Elsewhere, Piero Hincapie, Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes are all expected to filter back over the next couple of weeks as the squad gradually takes shape.
Arsenal’s pre-season schedule begins in earnest with a trip to Girona on 1 August before friendlies against Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund and Como, followed by the Community Shield against Manchester City. Given how compressed this summer has become, Arteta will have precious little time to get everyone up to speed before the serious business starts.
One player who could be joining the group sooner rather than later is Christos Tzolis. The Greece international is expected to undergo his medical tomorrow and, if everything goes to plan, could be training with his new teammates from Wednesday. As ever, we’ll keep you posted as soon as there’s anything official.