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Arsenal's Pre-Season Plans Amid World Cup Absences

Arsenal’s pre-season plans are taking shape, but Mikel Arteta will start the summer without a full deck.

Ten Arsenal players have driven their countries into the World Cup quarter-finals. All ten are now set to miss the opening stretch of pre-season, leaving a curious split between those chasing glory on the international stage and those reporting early to London Colney.

World Cup success, club headache

The roll call of progress is impressive.

  • William Saliba and France edged Paraguay 1-0 to book their place in the last eight.
  • Spain needed a late intervention from Mikel Merino to knock out Portugal, a goal that carried David Raya and Martin Zubimendi through with him.
  • Belgium, with Leandro Trossard supplying an assist, dismantled the United States.
  • England’s 3-2 win over Mexico turned into an Arsenal showcase. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were central to the opener, with Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke also part of a side that found a way through a wild contest.
  • Norway are still alive as well, helped by Brazil’s exit. When Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes went out, it meant Martin Odegaard’s side advanced.

The upshot: ten Arsenal players in the quarter-finals, and none of them likely to be in Arteta’s first pre-season sessions.

Timelines tightening

France play first, on July 9. Even if Saliba’s tournament ends there, he is due a minimum of three weeks off. With his recent injury issues, he is expected to need a little longer. That already takes him to at least July 31, the day before Arsenal’s opening friendly, with only a handful of sessions at best.

Pre-season itself will begin earlier than that date, giving those available a runway into that first game. Saliba, though, is cutting it fine.

The other nine Arsenal internationals have quarter-finals on July 10 and 11. Their turnaround is even tighter. Any progression from there and the schedule becomes brutal: semi-finals, then either a third-place play-off or the final on the closing weekend.

Spain face Belgium, pitting Merino, Raya and Zubimendi against Trossard. Norway meet England, setting Odegaard against Saka, Rice, Eze and Madueke. At least two Arsenal players are guaranteed to be involved until the final weekend. That number climbs if France, Spain or England go all the way.

Arteta will be watching with pride, but also with a planner’s anxiety.

Arteta’s early pre-season core

On the other side of the equation lies opportunity. Those not called up, or already eliminated, are in line to complete the full pre-season programme. That gives Arteta a clear, workable group from day one.

Senior players expected in early look like this:

Goalkeepers

  • Kepa Arrizabalaga
  • Tommy Setford

Defenders

  • Cristhian Mosquera
  • Ben White
  • Piero Hincapie
  • Gabriel Magalhaes
  • Jurrien Timber
  • Riccardo Calafiori

Midfielders

  • Myles Lewis-Skelly
  • Christian Norgaard
  • Fabio Vieira
  • Ethan Nwaneri

Forwards

  • Gabriel Jesus
  • Gabriel Martinelli
  • Viktor Gyokeres
  • Reiss Nelson
  • Kai Havertz

Youth prospects such as Max Dowman and Marli Salmon are also set to be involved, even if they sit outside the senior core.

It is a group with balance and intrigue. White, Magalhaes and Timber offer a strong defensive spine. Havertz, Jesus and Martinelli provide attacking variety. Newer faces like Hincapie, Calafiori, Norgaard and Gyokeres will have the rare luxury of extended time on the training ground with Arteta and his staff before the World Cup contingent return.

While the stars chase a trophy on the global stage, Arsenal’s next phase will quietly begin at London Colney, shaped by those already back in red and white.

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