Inside Arsenal’s season-defining winter break to Dubai with team-bonding sessions, Saka return and 15-year-old in squad

FORGET Newcastle. Forget Wembley – Mikel Arteta hopes a trip to Dubai will yet again do the trick for Arsenal. Still licking their wounds from a St James’ Park mauling in the Carabao Cup semi-finals the night before, the Gunners boarded a plane on Thursday morning for more mid-season winter sun. It has become a tradition of recent years for Arteta to take his squad to the Middle East – helped by early exits in the FA Cup – to recharge the batteries after a gruelling festive period and prepare for the final push.

Last season – following a run of one win in seven in all competitions from December 9, 2023 to January 7, 2024 – Arsenal jetted off to Dubai for some much-needed soul-searching and vitamin D. They ended that campaign with 16 wins from their final 18 Premier League games, pipped to the title on the final day by Manchester City. This term fits the narrative too, Arsenal beginning 2025 with one win in five in all competitions and have been knocked out of two cups before February has really got going.

Eleven games in 36 days has left the squad on its knees. When the group touch back down in London on Tuesday, a flick needs to be switched if they are to go one better in the Prem and chase down Liverpool’s six-point lead having played a game more than the Reds. Perfection will also be needed to go further than the last 16 in the Champions League next month, a tough ask from a paper-thin squad following Arsenal’s failure to recruit a forward in January.

Arteta likes consistency and familiarity in these Dubai trips, so Arsenal will be at the same training centre as last year – the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) sports complex. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS. It is a regular spot for Prem players during the off-season as well as for intense rehab sessions, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba and Tyrone Mings.

Arsenal’s sessions will involve high-intensity bursts and individual muscular conditioning programmes in average temperatures ranging from 22 to 27 degrees. It also gives a chance for injured players to step up their rehab – crocked duo Bukayo Saka (hamstring) and Ben White (knee) will be on the trip with returns expected within the next month. Arsenal usually stay in hotels near the famous Dubai Palm, with club officials previously raving over having everything at their doorstep away from training, including shopping malls and restaurants.

Arteta recently explained: “Of course we will have to modify [the trip]. There are a lot of things that will be very similar. Location, where we are staying, where we train. “But we are going at a different moment of the season, different numbers, probably the team needs a different stimulus, so we are preparing a few things. “Hopefully it will work like it has the last few times.”. Families and close friends will be allowed to mix with the group throughout the camp.

Last year, Arteta organised a BBQ for the group and staff as a bonding session. Arteta also likes to integrate academy players in the training squad. Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, used the 2024 trip well, and is now a regular first-team player. This time around, highly-rated 15-year-old Max Dowman and 16-year-old keeper Jack Porter – who made his senior debut in the Carabao Cup third round against Bolton – have been included.

Most importantly, Arteta needs to keep his players fit, especially Kai Havertz – the German international is the club’s only fit centre forward at the club with Gabriel Jesus out for the rest of the season with an ACL rupture. However, there are now concerns over Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian winger has had an MRI scan on his right hamstring after hobbling off in the first half of their 2-0 Toon defeat.