The season returns to full flow with the beginning of the Champions League and it's new format.
Arsenal make their first foray into the competition on Thursday evening when they make the trip to face Atalanta. The match against their Serie A opposition will mark the first of eight different rivals they will meet within the group stage.
Wednesday saw the north London side make their final preparations at their London Colney training base before making the journey to Italy. With a small section of training available to the media, hints are able to be gleaned about what Arsenal could be preparing.
Arsenal will have a short turnaround before taking on Manchester City on Sunday too. Mirror Football takes a look at what could be gleaned from the Gunners' open session ahead of their first European fixture of 2024/25.
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Injury boostsA sigh of a relief will have been quickly offered by any onlookers of an Arsenal persuasion as Bukayo Saka emerged for training. The England star limped off during the Gunners North London Derby win over Tottenham but now looks to be available to face Atalanta.
The 23-year-old could be seen alongside Riccardo Calafiori, who missed Arsenal's victory over Spurs entirely. The Italian summer signing appeared in good spirits as he returns from a calf injury and will hope to be involved against familiar opposition following his move from Bologna.
Martin Odegaard may have been present for the squad photograph but looks set to be out of Arsenal's opening Champions League clash. Arsenal's captain picked up an injury during international duty and missed his side's match against Tottenham and appears set to miss another.
The likes of Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu were also absent from the training pitch. Euro 2024 champion Merino was pictured without a sling during the club's annual photograph but is still not expected back until next month.
Youngsters involvedWith a number of injuries and Arteta not leading the deepest squad, a number of youngsters were also present for the season. It is perhaps little surprise to see Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly involved in the session given the involvment in first team training already this season.
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They could be seen in coversation with Saka on the training fields. Certainly not a bad mentor to have for the 17-year-old pair. Nwaneri was even able to show his talent and leave Declan Rice clutching at his bib during one drill.
They were also joined by Zane Monlouis, 20, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, 21, Josh Robinson, 19, and Cam’ron Ismail, 17. Goalkeepers also included Alexei Rojas Fedorushchenko, 18, and Jack Porter, 16.
While it is easy to think Calafiori and Jorginho are along among Arsenal's stars in returning to their homeland, Martinelli of course has Italian roots. The Brazil international hold dual citzenship despite growing up in South America, due to his father's Italian descent.
The young forward sent a reminder to his teammates during training on Wednesday and perhaps in jest, wanted to prove his connection to Bel Paese to his new teammate. After a playful slap from Calafiori, Martinelli fired back with a stereotypical Italian hand gesture towards the defender's face.
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