The season is over for Arsenal and the team is now completing responsibilities outside of the club. Players whose deals are set to expire are preparing for a new challenge, with both Kieran Tierney and Jorginho set to leave.
Thomas Partey’s contract is also ending but football.london understands talks over a new deal are progressing positively regarding a renewal. Mikel Arteta admitted after the match with Southampton that he will take a rest, but that some key meetings would be taking place this week to finalise plans for the summer on top of what has already been sorted.
“Yeah, with the coaches, analyse everything, what we've done as a team, what we've done individually, put all the plans together that they are almost done, sit down with them, finalise a few things that still have to be planned out, decided timings of that and go for it,” he said when asked about sitting down with Josh Kroenke and Andrea Berta.
He added: “But as well, I think we need to reset. I think it's been an extremely demanding season because emotionally, to handle the team, to handle the club's expectations with everything that happened, it's been tough. So, I think as well to get the best version of our seventh season is going to have to be a period where we have to disconnect and recharge those batteries.”
Players are given a minimum of three weeks' rest, but some will get longer if they are not involved in international matches, such as Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Kai Havertz. Plenty of others are recovering from injuries such as Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori and Reiss Nelson and will hope to be fit and ready for pre-season - others like Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are long-term absentees and not expected back until closer to the end of the year.
Arteta recently admitted that some of the squad were asking to be involved in another summer camp before pre-season officially begins. Last year, Arteta and some of his squad went to Marbella, and plans appear to be in place to repeat the trip.
“The players are demanding it,” said Arteta. “I mean nowadays I think it’s impossible to have four, five, six weeks on your sun bed, putting sun cream [on] and just ordering drinks.
“Then come back, six weeks later and go full gas, tour and play 65 games. I think it’s impossible. Now they demand themselves to be in the best possible condition.
“We are really lucky because we have boys there that they want to spend the summer with their families and with them, so they want to be together as well, so if they can pick a place that we can do that, we can facilitate that, more than welcome to do that.”
football.london understands the club are due to fly out to Asia for their pre-season tour on July 19 but will of course return to training at the Sobha Realty Training Centre before that. Arsenal are not involved in the FIFA Club World Cup this summer and as of yet have not announced that they will travel to Nurnberg as they have done in previous seasons nor whether an Emirates Cup will take place on the final weekend of the summer before the Premier League gets back underway on August 15 with fixtures for the season being announced at 9am UK time on June 18.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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