Fan View: Arsenal making good progress in pre-season

After three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League and a handful of semi-final exits in the cups alongside, it feels like a crunch campaign that needs to end in a trophy for Mikel Arteta and his side in order to crown the project.

As part of the preparations, the Gunners will travel to Singapore at the end of the month to take on Italian side AC Milan on July 23 and Newcastle on July 27, before a derby against Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong on July 31.

Arsenal also have games at the Emirates scheduled against Villarreal (August 6) and Athletic Bilbao (August 9) to round out their preparation.

It’s a mix of Premier League and European rivals which should provide some solid tests for the Gunners and a good chance for new signings to find their feet in games against competitive teams.

Typically, Arsenal also face off in a behind-closed-doors friendly against a lower league London side before setting off on their travels which is likely to be over the next week.

One refreshing aspect of this pre-season is how early Arsenal have progressed and completed signings, giving them a full pre-season to get acclimatised and up to speed ready for the campaign.

Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga have already signed for the club, while deals for Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, and Christhian Mosquera appear to be in final stages and likely to be completed before the team flies out on tour.

We saw last season how a lack of pre-season impacted new arrival Mikel Merino, who was injured himself in his first training session, missing two months and then taking several matches to get up to speed and make an impact.

It’s hard to underestimate the value of six weeks dedicated training with the manager and team, especially with how important it is for Arsenal to hit the ground running away to Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day of the domestic campaign.