Arsenal spent time away from the cold and harsh environment of the UK in its winter period to travel abroad to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp.
Home had been harsh for Arsenal in more than just a meteorological sense, with the reaction to the close of the transfer market and the draw with Burnley fresh and festering during the 18-day period without any game to speak of.
However, Mikel Arteta was able to get his players away from the controversy marinating through social media channels and instead focus on the return to Premier League action against Wolverhampton Wanderers this coming Thursday night.
Arteta has a near full squad to choose from after the completion of the African Cup of Nations has seen Mohamed Elneny, Nicolas Pepe and Thomas Partey return.
Although, Partey had already come home from the competition after Ghana’s early exit. Returning in enough time to be sent off in the League Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool. Both he and Granit Xhaka would have served their suspensions however and will be free to face Wolves.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s fitness has been the biggest question since he suffered a setback in the game against the Reds and missed the Burnley draw. Arteta provided a small glimmer of hope but little to make many feel the Japanese international could return in time.
"He’s there," said Arteta. "He had a recurring injury so we had to be careful with him. He’s been training hard. Let’s see if he’s available for Thursday."
Whilst away in Dubai however, Tomiyasu’s absence being known would have given Arteta plenty of time to work on possible solutions which were not effective against Burnley.
Ben White started the match with Cedric Soares also out. The Portuguese international could also return having now recovered from injury. However, the 29-year-old has struggled for form and his last appearance against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup defeat was very disappointing.
Some theories suggest whilst away in the warm of the Middle East, Arteta could have worked on a variety of systems.
Arsenal have used a back three under Arteta before and the absence of Tomiyasu could prompt a return to the formation that helped the Gunners beat Manchester City and Chelsea to the 2020 FA Cup.
Cedric would suit the wing-back role with the security of three defenders much better than playing the more defensively responsible right-back position in a row of four.
Furthermore, Arsenal’s opponents, Wolves, use a wing-back system themselves under Bruno Lage, positioning them as outsiders in the chase for the European places. In fact, should Wolves win on Thursday, they would go above the Gunners.
Matching up the Wolves system, similar to how Arteta matches Thomas Tuchel’s system at Stamford Bridge last season to come away with an unlikely victory, could give the north London side better control on the game.
Beyond Cedric, the other options at right wing-back could see Nuno Tavares or Bukayo Saka used in the role. The latter would see a return to right-wing for Pepe who has struggled for regular minutes under Arteta.
All will be revealed tomorrow evening with Arsenal looking to push ahead with their hopes of a top-four finish.
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