Arsenal are looking for a return to Champions League football at the sixth time of asking and begin their campaign on Friday at Selhurst Park, where Crystal Palace have made life decidedly uncomfortable in recent years. They come off the back of an unusually quiet pre-season, in which the starting line-up has been noticeably strengthened and no sagas surrounding key players have occupied the narrative. Although they agonizingly dropped out of the top four last season after a late slump, Arteta feels he is ready to go one better amid a crowded field of contenders. “We are ready to go to a different level and I am convinced of that,” he said. “What the other teams are doing is obvious. others already had a much stronger team than us, and were still recruiting four or five, or some of them seven players. “This is not going to get any easier, so we can just focus on what we’re trying to do, what we can do, because we can’t do everything at once. We are sure that we will succeed.” Jesus has been a long-term target to fill Arsenal’s centre-forward role and has been prolific this summer, scoring seven times in a warm-up program that included crushing wins over Chelsea and Sevilla. He and the versatile Zinchenko, who operates at left-back with Kieran Tierney returning to fitness, cost around £75m in total. Seems like a smart move in today’s market considering both players are still only 25 years old and have won four championships apiece. Quick guide
Opening day ding-dongs: From Ki’s Old Trafford heroics to Brentford
projection Chelsea 2 Hull 1August 15, 2009Stephen Hunt’s tap-in gave visitors Hull a surprise lead, but a delightful brace from Didier Drogba (pictured) – a 25-yard free-kick and a deft finish – sealed Chelsea’s last minute triumph. Man Utd 1 Swansea 2August 16, 2014Ki Sung-yueng struck first for Swansea, capping off a superb team move. Wayne Rooney’s strike restored parity but Gylfi Sigurdsson’s winner sealed United’s first home defeat in 42 years. Hull 2 Leicester 1 August 13, 2016Newly-promoted Hull, with just 13 fit first-team players, shocked defending champions Leicester when Adama Diomande’s overhead kick and Robert Snodgrass’ low drive secured an incredible win at the KCOM Stadium. Arsenal 4 Leicester 3 August 11 2017Alex Lacazette and Shinji Okazaki scored in quick succession, before Leicester twice went in front through Jamie Vardy’s cross, stuck twice by Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey respectively before Olivier Giroud’s late winner. Brentford 2 Arsenal 0August 13, 2021In their first Premier League game, Brentford beat an unbeaten Arsenal side as goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard heralded a night to remember for the hosts. Joel Means Photo: Rebecca Naden/PA Wire/Press Association Images Thanks for your response. “Yes, and that was his goal,” said Arteta if that experience of trophies was the key to getting them. “These players have been inspired by top players, top professionals, ruthless winners for many years and looked up to them. Now it’s their turn to do the same and inspire the younger players we have on our team to do the same: show them what it takes to win and the level of detail, hunger and dedication you need to keep winning.” Gabriel Jesus has impressed in pre-season following his move to Arsenal. Photo: Sam Navarro/USA Today Sports Another new signing, Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira, returned to training on Thursday after a leg injury and could be on the bench. Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu were also involved, but Emile Smith Rowe is not ready to return from a knock which saw him miss a chunk of Arsenal’s pre-season. Tomiyasu’s lack of fitness means Ben White is likely to start at right-back, with William Saliba making his Premier League debut in central defence. Saliba came through pre-season after a highly successful loan spell at Marseille and the 21-year-old adds quality depth to an area where he has been lacking. The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. “He’s playing the minutes he played [on loan] and the way you could see he was growing and developing, he gave us a lot of reasons that he could be the player we need,” said Arteta. “And in the last few weeks he’s given us every reason to believe we made the right decision by sending him on loan for a year, because now he looks set to leave.” Arsenal lost 3-0 at Selhurst Park on April 4 in a disastrous display that set the tone for their collapse last season. “Hopefully we learned a lot of lessons that day,” Arteta said. He suggested that Arsenal’s transfer business for this window is far from done: they are light on depth up front and on the wings, and squad players such as Hector Bellerin and Pablo Mari are among those expected to move on. “Everything is still open,” he said.
