Arsenal have returned to pre-season training ahead of one of the most important season’s in the clubs recent history. The 2018/19 season is of course the first season for 22 years where Arsene Wenger will not be in the dugout for the Gunners, with Unai Emery the man charged with replacing him. Privacy Settings Arsenal finished sixth in last season’s Premier League table, an incredible 12 points behind Liverpool in the fourth and final Champions League spot, and 14 behind North London rivals Spurs. Emery has already started to rebuild the Gunners squad, bringing in experienced defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, as well as highly rated young goalkeeper Bernd Leno. There are other deals in the pipeline too, with Sampdoria’s Lucas Torreira expected to join after his involvement at this summers World Cup has come to an end. Those players who haven’t been involved in the showpiece tournament over in Russia have now returned to Arsenal’s training ground to start their pre-season preparations, and of course, meet their new manager. 🔊 Turn that volume 🆙 – we're about to take you inside the training ground… 💬 Here's @UnaiEmery_ speaking to the squad ahead of pre-season testing pic.twitter.com/qpjWneXWm9 — Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 4, 2018 The club have also released a video of the players being put through their paces by the clubs fitness staff:<doc-sep>ARSENAL are holding medicals for TWO players today as new boss Unai Emery continues his squad overhaul. Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi will be put through their paces before agreeing long-term deal with the Premier League giants. 2 Lucas Torreira will go straight in to challenge for a first-team spot at Arsenal as he edges nearer to finalising a deal Credit: Getty Images - Getty It will take Emery's signings this summer to FIVE already, following Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno and Sokratis Papastathopoulos penning deals. Serie A side Sampdoria agreed a fee with Arsenal while Torreira was at the World Cup in Russia. But he decided to hold off completing the move until the tournament was over. He told Telenoche: "I would have been very happy to be able to return to Uruguay with my teammates, but this is a fantastic opportunity [to join Arsenal] and I do not want to waste it." 2 Matteo Guendouzi, right, is highly-regarded and will join Arsenal from Lorient Credit: AFP - Getty Uruguay were knocked out at the quarter-finals stage by France, losing 2-0 in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday. Torreira is a 22-year-old defensive midfielder, and is seen as a first-team players at the Emirates. Guendouzi, meanwhile, is very much one for the future, and is poised to complete a £7m move from Lorient. Also a midfielder, the French U-20 international will pen a five-year contract at the Emirates. Guendouzi burst on the scene at the end of the 2016/17 season, but failed to help the club maintain their Ligue 1 status.<doc-sep>Unai Emery took charge of his first Arsenal training session at London Colney today Unai Emery held his first Arsenal training session at London Colney this afternoon since taking over from Arsene Wenger last month. The Spaniard, who previously managed Paris Saint-Germain, was seen shaking hands with full-back Hector Bellerin as he got to know his new squad. The 46-year-old was clutching a clipboard appearing to detail training drills as he strode around the pitch. There was a public outcry when media outlets published pictures of England assistant Steve Holland’s notes before the Three Lions’ World Cup clash with Panama – although Emery’s clipboard does not appear to contain a starting XI.<doc-sep>Unai Emery has just wrapped up his first week of training as Arsenal’s new head coach, and from this report by Charles Watts of football.London it details just how different the Spaniard is to his predecessor, Arsene Wenger: It’s not just on the training pitch where there have been changes either, the new regime has moved to put some new rules in place in terms of how the players will act while they are at the training ground. The use of mobile phones has been restricted, with the players told on Tuesday that there are only certain times of they day that they are allowed - with them strictly forbidden while lunch is being eaten. Emery has also moved to make the lunch period one where all of the players integrate more - with the Under-18s and Under-23s on site eating alongside those in the senior squad. Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. That tidbit just rocked my nuts off and nearly made me shit my pants from awe and amazement. Fuck me senseless, this innovative guy clearly knows what he’s doing. Watts also reported that majority stakeholder Stan Kroenke paid Emery and his staff a visit at the training ground earlier today, which is the only time in the age of Wal-Mart that a family member of the folks who control that vast empire has deliberately shaken hands and had a friendly conversation with a man who primarily speaks Spanish who wasn’t asking about fair wages as a way to live a humane life. Kudos to Stan for reaching out, don’t go washing that hand, Unai, and congrats to Arsenal in advance for winning the league this season.<doc-sep>
Arsenal players put through a number of drills at London Colney Gunners players returned to the London Colney training ground this week as pre-season training got underway. The likes of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all looked sharp as they were put through their paces by new manager Unai Emery. New boys Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Bernd Leno have both been getting used to their new surroundings while Stephan Lichtsteiner has been given an extended break following his participation in the World Cup with Switzerland. But as the players reported for training on Thursday morning, they were met by chief executive Ivan Gazidis. Ivan Gazidis was at Arsenal training today The Gunners chief has was seen greeting Aaron Ramsey and Jeff Reine-Adelaide before training started. Arsenal have already been busy this summer securing deals for Sokratis, Leno and Lichtsteiner but Gazidis has previously revealed there will be more signings to come. "We have brought in a new head of recruitment in Sven Mislintat and alongside him is Huss Fahmy who has been involved with negotiating a lot of our player contracts and also we have Raul Sanllehi who joins us from Barcelona," he told Arsenal fans during a Q&A session last month. Unai Emery meets players during first Arsenal training session Wed, July 4, 2018 Express Sport brings you the best pictures from Unai Emery's first Arsenal training session Play slideshow Arsenal FC via Getty Images 1 of 19 Unai Emery took charge of his first Arsenal training session at London Colney today