Arsenal are set for a trip to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp following next week’s League Cup match against Newcastle United, according to a report.
Philip Duncan and Adrian Bishop reported for the Daily Mail last week that Arsenal were close to formalising a warm-weather training camp in Dubai, assuming they could avoid dropping out of the Champions League top-eight on the final matchday.
The top eight clubs qualify directly for the Champions League round-of-16 in March, whilst teams placing ninth to 24th have to play an extra play-off round in February.
If Arsenal had slipped down the table at the last minute, the opportunity for a warm-weather training camp would have disappeared. But the Gunners ended up finishing third after a win in Girona.
That report from the Mail followed Simon Collings writing for The Standard in mid-January that Arsenal were looking into the possibility of heading to Dubai.
Mikel Arteta confirmed at the time: “We are looking at that now. Okay [the FA Cup] is gone, so how can we optimise the situation in the best possible way, so we’re looking at options.
“The calendar and the fixtures are a bit dependent on what happens in the Champions League as well, so we’re looking and trying to plan the options.
“We knew that (the calendar would be packed) and when we are involved in all the competitions, we’re prepared for that and we’re going to face it, that’s it.”
HandOfOzil reports on Twitter that Arsenal are now set to make that trip to Dubai, which they’ll do following the League Cup second-leg match against Newcastle on February 5th. The Gunners don’t have another game until February 15th.