Mikel Arteta spoke about some Arsenal players training early in Marbella, Spain ahead of pre-season:

“It’s a long break for some of the players who haven’t been involved with international football. Nowadays, at the level we’re competing at and with the schedule we have, we need top-level athletes.

“So we believe it was the right decision to bring them in a little bit earlier, to start integrating them back into the team, to check their fitness levels, and to begin a good preparation.

“They’ll still have some time off to relax and enjoy themselves. Marbella offers a bit of everything, and I think it’s working really well.”