Pre season report
It was a busy pre season for Arsenal, Arsenal has played 11 friendly matches, scoring over 65 goals and conceding only Four goals. Arsenal also gave a chance to many young players during the preseason.
Arsène Wenger is delighted with the preseason despite the injuries the club has received.
"It was a good pre season, I wanted to play more than 8 friendly matches because I wanted to give a chance to the younger players. They delivered good performances and I'm happy with that." said Wenger
"We received many injuries during the preseason but all of the first team players are ready except Nicklas Bendtner and Thomas Vermaelen who are currently not fit enough." Wenger highlighted
"Let's focus on Saturday for now. We have to start the season in a good way, we need to beat Fulham."
Signings
Arsenal started the season with 4 signings, including:
Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for 42.5 Million pounds.
Mathieu Flamini on a free transfer from AC Milan.
Yaya Sanogo on a free transfer from Aj Auxerre.
Emiliano Viviano on loan until the end of the season from Palermo.
Four new staff members
Arsenal FC has welcomed four new faces to the coaching staff:
Arsenal has appointed
Rene Meulensteen as a coach for the club. Who will be with the gunners for 4 years. (26th of June)
Arsenal has appointed
John Owens as a coach for the U18 team. Signing a two year contract. (26th of June)
Arsenal has appointed
Paul Winsper as a fitness coach for the first team. Will stay with the gunners for 5 years. (27th of june)
Arsenal has appointed
Dave Billows as a coach for the first team. Signing a three year deal with the gunners. (28th of June)
Arsenal also added Ian Andrews to the physio team, signing a three years contract. (26th of June)
Loans
Arsenal FC also loaned out a few young players in a bid to earn first team experience:
Park Chu-Young has joined Olympique de Marseille on loan until the end of the season with an option to make it permanent for 2,000,000 Pounds. (1st of July)
Youngster
Jack Jebb has joined Forest Green Rovers on loan until the end of the season. (28th of june)
Isaac Hayden has joined Wrexham on loan until the end of the season. (2nd July)
20 year old
Daniel Boateng has joined Luton on loan until the end of the season. (29th of June)
Injuries
A summary of unfortunate injuries that Arsenal received:
Natxo Monreal has sustained a stained wrist that kept him out for 9 days. (26th of June)
Serge Gnabry has sustained a bruised shin during the match against Kingstonian. It kept him out for a week. (31st of July)
Flamini has suffered a thigh strain that kept him out for 10-12 days. (24th of July)
Theo Walcott has suffered a thigh strain that kept him out for 10-12 days. (4th of July)
Yaya Sanogo has suffered a thigh strain that kept him out for 11 days. (10th of July)
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain has sustained a sprained ankle during the Chertsey match. It kept him out for a month.
Links
Arsenal also announced the link with championship side Millwall.
Arsenal now are able to send players on loan to Millwall but Millwall will have no obligation to use the player. Arsenal also can recall the player at any time. However, Millwall have the ability to host an annual friendly between the two clubs. (15 of July)
UEFA Champions League Playoff Draw
And lastly, the UEFA Champions League playoff draw was made on the 9th of August. Arsenal will have to beat AS PAOK Salonika in order to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage.
"It is a good draw, of course we have a very good chance to qualify but we will not underestimate them, that's for sure." Arsène Wenger on the draw