Having spent a week in a city where it failed to drop below 25 degrees even at night, it was something of a shock for the Arsenal players when they stepped off the plane in London to sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday evening. As he braved the winter chill, though, the success of his side's trip to Dubai would undoubtedly have given Mikel Arteta a warm sense of satisfaction.
With the first winter World Cup in footballing history, each team has taken a step into the unknown over the past week. Arsenal though have been planning for months to ensure it went as smoothly as possible.
As far back as September, Dubai was being sounded out as a potential destination for a warm weather training camp to gear the Gunners up for the return of the Premier League. Having travelled to the Middle Eastern city in January of this year, it made sense in theory to go there again. Of course in practice though things are rarely ever quite as easy as planned.
