Mikel Arteta has led his Arsenal side out to Spain for a pre-season camp in La Manga.
The Gunners began their preparations for the new season on Wednesday, welcoming many of their players back to the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Several stars like Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly were spotted in training, while even Albert Sambi Lokonga took part in a session under Arteta.
Now, the whole group has travelled to Spain, and one key Arsenal player has returned to training ahead of schedule following his injury.
Gabriel Magalhaes is back in Arsenal training after injury
Gabriel Magalhaes is one of Arsenal’s most important players.
The Brazilian has been at the club for five seasons, and he has developed into one of the best centre-backs in the world in that period.
Gabriel has formed a phenomenal partnership with William Saliba at the back, and they are among the biggest reasons why Arsenal have challenged for the title in recent years.
However, in April, Gabriel suffered a season-ending hamstring injury, and Arsenal claimed on their website at the time that the aim was to have him ‘ready for the start of next season’.
But, in what is a surprise to many, Gabriel has returned to training ahead of schedule and posted a picture of himself in a session in Spain on Friday.
That is a massive boost for Arteta, as Gabriel is an ‘excellent’ player and Arsenal are much better when he starts at the back.
“Happy to be back! Let’s go,” he wrote in his post.
Injuries killed Arsenal’s season in 2024/25
Arsenal were, in many people’s eyes, the favourites to win the Premier League title in the 2024/25 campaign.
The Gunners started the season well too, but injuries and terrible refereeing decisions ruined their chances of becoming champions.
Three key Arsenal stars suffered hamstring injuries and had to undergo surgery — Gabriel, Kai Havertz and of course, Bukayo Saka. All of those happened in the second half of the season.
Arsenal need to make sure there is no repeat of that in the upcoming campaign. Arteta needs to give the players more rest whenever he can.
If he doesn’t, there will be a big risk of injuries again.
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