Reiss Nelson insists Arsenal’s players will embrace the opportunity to regroup during a warm-weather break in Dubai after a terrible run which has seen them drop to fourth in the Premier League and exit the FA Cup.
Arsenal do not play again until Saturday week when they entertain Crystal Palace and they are taking the chance to get away from it all. The idea behind the week-long trip to Dubai is to train in the sunshine while bonding as a group. The players have been encouraged to take their partners and children.
Mikel Arteta will keep the work light and fresh as he is mindful of the physical and mental strain that has been placed on a squad stretched by injuries. Arsenal will adhere to a Premier League directive that says clubs should not play any friendlies during their breaks nor engage in any major commercial activities.
There are two ways of looking at Arsenal’s situation: they will either have plenty of time to stew on Sunday’s 2-0 FA Cup reverse to Liverpool at the Emirates, which came hard on the heels of the league defeats against West Ham and Fulham. Or the time off will give them a needed period to rest weary limbs and clear heads. No prizes for guessing which interpretation is being pushed inside the club.
Nelson, who started the Liverpool tie ahead of Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing, was asked whether the break was almost a blessing in disguise. “You could say that,” he replied. “It’s a chance for us to put all the games behind us that we had. We lost three on the bounce and it’s not the best situation. But now we can regroup, go back to the drawing board and come back fighting for Palace.
“It is a chance for the boys just to be together every day. You are not in an environment where it is just training. We can do fun activities, go out. A lot of boys are bringing their families out as well, so it’s a chance to meet people’s families. It’s nice to be in the heat, train in the good weather. It’s good for us.”
Arteta confirmed on Sunday night that Gabriel Jesus would travel to Dubai after missing the Liverpool match with a knee injury. Jesus did not appear to be moving with any difficulty as he left the Emirates Stadium after the game. The club’s other injured players are Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Fábio Vieira and Jurrien Timber. Takehiro Tomiyasu is on Asian Cup duty with Japan; Mohamed Elneny at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.
Arteta’s decision to start Nelson ahead of Martinelli against Liverpool spoke in part to the latter’s indifferent recent form. Martinelli has struggled with the demands on him and so has the 22-year-old on the other wing – Bukayo Saka. There is no doubt that Arsenal’s break will be good for both of them.
Nelson blew a good chance in the second minute when he ran onto a long ball and tried to round Alisson, only to be forced wide and shoot into the side-net. It was of a piece with Arsenal’s extreme profligacy, which had Arteta talking afterwards of the team having a psychological block in front of goal.
“I am not too sure what it is,” Nelson said. “I think it was just … especially on my end … I feel like maybe I rushed my shot. I should have taken more time on the ball to try and finish it off. But this is football. Another game, that goes in and everybody is happy.”