Matt Turner and Takehiro Tomiyasu have seemingly joined up with Arsenal in Dubai, despite previous reports to the contrary.
Mikel Arteta has taken an Arsenal squad to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp over the World Cup break, with Granit Xhaka confirming his intention to follow them there immediately after Switzerland’s World Cup exit.
However, other reports had suggested that some Arsenal players might not travel to Dubai straight away, and Takehiro Tomiyasu told the media he was hoping to “get a bit of rest”.
Yet it seems a couple of Arsenal’s World Cup stars have travelled to Dubai anyway.
Matt Turner’s partner posted pictures of the two of them in Dubai on her Instagram story, confirming the USA goalkeeper has made the trip from Qatar.
Meanwhile, Yahoo Japan report that Takehiro Tomiyasu has returned to his club, implying he’s also in Dubai. The defender isn’t on the list of 15 players who travelled to Japan with the national team.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the pair of them will be involved with Arsenal in their friendlies straight away. Though they’re in Dubai, they may still take a few days of holiday before returning to training.
But they’re already in the right place when they do plan to get involved with Arsenal again.
Arsenal play their first public friendly of the World Cup break on Thursday, facing Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup. Find out how to watch the game here.
Arsenal squad for the Dubai Super Cup
Senior players: Kieran Tierney, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Marquinhos, Karl Hein, and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Academy call-ups: Hubert Graczyk, James Hillson, Taylor Foran, Zane Monlouis, Lino Sousa, Reuell Walters, Catalin Cirjan, Matt Smith, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Charles Sagoe Jr, Amario Cozier-Duberry, and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.
Arsenal World Cup schedule (times in GMT)
- November 13th-November 27th – Time off
- November 28th – Return to training
- December 3rd – Arsenal 2-4 Watford (London Colney)
- December 4th – Travel to Dubai for a warm-weather camp
- December 8th, 15:30 – Arsenal vs Lyon (Al Maktoum Stadium)
- December 13th, 14:00 – Arsenal vs Milan (Al Maktoum Stadium)
- December 14th – Travel back to London
- December 17th, 18:00 – Arsenal vs Juventus (Emirates Stadium)
- W/C December 19th – Rumoured 5th friendly (London Colney)
- December 26th – The Premier League returns