The start of the new season is getting closer and closer which means the intensity levels in Arsenal training is increasing with their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace a month away.
After comfortably dispatching League One opposition in Ipswich Town 5-1 in a behind-closed-doors fixture last weekend, the next step in the Gunners' pre-season program is a clash against 2. Bundesliga outfit FC Nurnberg, with Mikel Arteta expecting a "good test" for his side.
As with the build-up any competitive fixture, the Spaniard and his coaching staff put the Arsenal squad through their paces, but instead of at London Colney, this time it was at the Adidas HQ in Nuremberg, which has been home to the north London outfit this week as part of a mini pre-season training camp in Germany.
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With the training sessions getting underway on Monday, Arsenal have decided to recap the past four days by releasing a 10-minute video of how the players have been getting on in Germany and here are some of the things that football.london noticed about the edit.
Arteta assist
Yes, the Arsenal manager was heavily involved in training this week and he showed his squad that he hasn't lost a step despite retiring from being an active player over six years ago. In fact, the former midfielder rolled back the years with a couple of pin-point long-range passes.
Furthermore, after managing to wriggle out of a tight situation after dropping deep to receive a pass, the Spaniard was left smiling from ear-to-ear. But perhaps the highlight for Arteta was claiming an assist for Hector Bellerin as he chipped over the top for his compatriot to tap the ball into an empty net.
By no means was it a Trent Alexander-Arnold or Kevin De Bruyne-Esque pass but it was still a nice moment for the Gunners boss to enjoy and the hope is that one or two of the youngsters present in the session will have learned an important lesson from the former midfield maestro.
Marquinhos forfeit
Arsenal's first signing of the 2022 summer transfer window is certainly aware of how serious the squad takes their forfeits as there was no special treatment for the new arrival.
One of the drills involved the players quickly assembling into groups of five or 10. At the first time of asking the Brazilian winger passed the test with flying colours as he paired up with Gabriel Jesus, Pablo Mari, Bellerin and a Gunners coach, which resulted in Gabriel Martinelli, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Cedric Soares having to undergo a forfeit of doing push-ups.
However, he was less lucky the next time as the 19-year-old was one of three players not to be in a group of 10 upon command and his forfeit was also push-ups, alongside Mohamed Elneny and Cedric again, who clearly didn't have the best of times with this drill.
Turner wonder save
Speaking of Arsenal summer signings and Matt Turner has been getting to know his new teammates over the past week or so after completing his initial £4.5 transfer - which could rise to £7.5m - from Major League Soccer (MLS) side New England Revolution at the end of June.
Despite being expected to replace Bernd Leno - heavily linked with a move to Fulham - as Aaron Ramsdale's understudy when the new season gets underway, the United States international has his eyes set on becoming the Gunners' undisputed No. 1 choice in between the sticks.
"I can see why they'd assess it that way. Aaron [Ramsdale] had an amazing season for Arsenal and played well all year," he told Sky Sports last month when asked about the perception of him playing a back-up role. "I'd agree with it for now. I'm coming in to push him and become the best goalkeeper I can become, while also making him the best goalkeeper he can become. That's really my goal for it all."
With wonder saves like the one at around the 8.26-minute mark, where he rushes across his line to keep out Marquinhos' effort, Turner is already living up to his promise to compete in pre-season and early signs suggest the battle for the Arsenal No.1 shirt is looking rather healthy.
Gabriel Jesus prediction
Sticking with Turner, he and another fellow new recruit in Gabriel Jesus enjoyed a quick catch-up towards the end of the session with their conversation centring around football in the United States.
The Brazilian noted that the interest in and standard of football in the US are "improving" and predicted that within the next three years it could grow even further. To which Turner - a USMNT goalkeeper agreed - as he explained what impact the 2026 World Cup being held on home soil could have.
"The last time the World Cup was in the United States, MLS was created," he said. "One more World Cup and it should [Turner makes a flying gesture suggesting it should take off] it would be really good."
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