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Arsenal

sportsmole.co.uk, 11 July 2022, 16:27
William Saliba and Lucas Torreira are among the players to have returned to Arsenal's London Colney base for pre-season training.

The Gunners' international crop were given extra time off to recover from their summer exploits, and many were not involved in the 5-3 win over Nuremberg on Friday.

Mikel Arteta welcomed a large contingent of first-team players back to the English capital for training on Monday as the Gunners prepare to jet off to the United States for their next batch of friendly games.

Among the players to return were Saliba and Torreira, with the former finally aiming to make his competitive first-team debut three years after joining from Saint-Etienne for a £27m fee.

Marseille tried and failed to sign Saliba on a permanent deal following his stellar loan spell in 2021-22, which saw him crowned the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year.

The centre-back confirmed his desire to make a name for himself at Arsenal earlier this summer, and his agent Djibril Niang was also seen in the London Colney contract signing room.

Niang's presence at the training ground could hint that a new contract for Saliba - whose current terms expire in the summer of 2024 - is imminent, with Arteta keen to reward the 21-year-old after his continued development.

Torreira was also pictured on the exercise bikes after his proposed permanent move to Fiorentina fell through over the Viola's refusal to fork out his £12.5m buy option.

The 26-year-old was an instrumental figure in helping Fiorentina qualify for the Europa Conference League last season with five goals in 31 Serie A outings, and his Arsenal deal is up in 12 months' time.

Torreira's agent has confirmed that the Uruguay international will be part of Arsenal's squad for their pre-season tour of the States, potentially handing him a lifeline at the Emirates.

However, the former Sampdoria man has insisted that he has "no chance" of remaining at Arsenal, who have also informed him that he is not in Arteta's plans for the upcoming campaign.

"There is no chance. From the beginning, they told me that I didn't have a place, so I don't want to stay either," Torreira told El Telegrafo. "We'll look for a new direction. Any team that wants me has to buy me, which would be around €15m (£12.9m)."

As well as Saliba and Torreira, the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Nuno Tavares, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka also returned to London Colney for their first session back.

Arsenal begin their tour of the United States with the Charm City Match against Everton on July 16 before clashes with Orlando City and Chelsea in the Florida Cup on July 20 and 23 respectively.

Arteta's side finalise their preparations for the new season with the Emirates Cup clash against Sevilla on July 30 before opening their Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace on August 5.

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