Three Arsenal players, including new £29.9million signing Fabio Vieira, have been training separately from the main squad on the Gunners’ pre-season tour of America.
The Gunners are currently in America preparing for their friendly against Premier League rivals Everton in The Charm City Match, taking place in the early hours of Sunday morning in Baltimore with a kick-off time of midnight (UK time).
Arsenal have a squad of 33 players out on tour with Mikel Arteta’s side, who take on Orlando City and Chelsea later this month in the FC Series before ending pre-season at home to Sevilla in the Emirates Cup on July 30.
In a detailed report about Arsenal’s training camp at the US Naval Academy - moved from the University of Maryland due to the quality of the pitch - football.London have provided behind-the-scenes access from the Gunners’ pre-season camp.
During the session, new signing Vieira, who arrived from Porto earlier this summer, was one of three players who trained separately from the rest of the group who trained in front of the media.
Vieira and defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney, who have both been recovering from long-term injuries, all trained separately from the rest of the main group. However, the same report claims that all three men are in contention to feature against the Toffees on Sunday morning.
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Arsenal got off to a winning start in their pre-season friendlies, beating Ipswich Town 5-1 behind closed doors before sealing a 5-3 victory away at German side Nurnberg, a game where summer signing Gabriel Jesus scored twice.
Vieira is yet to make his debut for the Gunners since his summer switch, while Jesus, goalkeeper Matt Turner and winger Marquinhos all featured in the eight-goal thriller in Germany.
The Gunners have so far completed four signings but are believed to be closing in on a fifth addition, with Arsenal said to be in talks with Manchester City over signing versatile defender Oleksandr Zinchenko. Arteta looks to be reunited with the Ukrainian, with the duo working alongside each other while at the Etihad Stadum.
Should they sign Zinchenko, he is expected to be played as a midfielder like he does on international duty, allowing him to get more involved in games and play in a position he prefers.
Arsenal are currently preparing for a 2022/23 campaign that will see them return to European football, with a fifth-placed finish enough to qualify them for the group stages of the Europa League.
The Gunners start their new Premier League campaign on Crystal Palace on Friday, August 5 at Selhurst Park.
