Mikel Arteta has wasted no time in integrating new Arsenal signing Christos Tzolis into his side’s pre-season preparations. The Greek winger arrived from Club Brugge for £34million this month.
There is intrigue and excitement in the air in north London as Arsenal prepare for their first Premier League title defence since the 2004/05 campaign. Arteta does not yet have his full squad as the players who progressed deep into the World Cup are still recovering from the competition.
He was able to call upon his stars who either did not compete in the USA, Mexico or Canada or exited it early. Here is four things football.london spotted in Arsenal’s recent training session.
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He is already beginning to look like a hand full for opposition players so it’s no wonder Arteta wants him up to speed as quick as humanly possible. Last season, Tzolis put up some breath-taking numbers, helping himself to 22 goals and 29 assists in 52 appearances for the Belgian side.
If he is to put up even 50 per cent of those figures in his debut campaign, it would be a remarkable season for the 24-year-old Greek international.
Fabio Vieira was also in the thick of training, despite the Gunners placing a £15.4m price-tag on his head. He is currently being pursued by Hamburg after impressing for them while on loan last season.
Nevertheless, Arteta is keeping a close eye on him in training, despite his future at the club appearing to be elsewhere having also missed the recent pre-season friendly over MK Dons. The Gunners have been in talks with the German side, who made it clear through their board member Erick Huwer, that they want to sign him permanently.
Huwer recently said: “We fell in love with Fabio a little bit last year, but we are not going to be unreasonable. If Arsenal say yes, we look forward to him. If they say no, we look forward to someone else.”
Jurrien Timber training for Arsenal will be a sight for sore eyes for fans. The Dutchman had to miss the World Cup through a groin injury which has troubled him for a large portion of 2026.
However, the fact he is back in full training suggests he is close to being fully fit for Mikel Arteta’s side. With the new campaign starting on August 16 with the Community Shield clash against Manchester City, the Gunners will be desperate for him to be back as quickly as possible.
Some of Arsenal’s World Cup contingent were involved with training. Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz were back involved after a lengthy post-World Cup break.
Gyokeres and Havertz’s nations, Sweden and Germany, both departed in the round of 32, losing to France and Paraguay respectively. Many more are due to come back in the next few weeks, but are still on leave having got to the later stages of the competition.
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