Arsenal pre-season tour: Five players with a point to prove to Mikel Arteta

A little over three years ago, Arteta was rebuilding an ageing, disjointed squad that failed to qualify for any form of European competition, and with a combination of savvy scouting and tough but fair selection decisions, the Gunners are nearly at the pinnacle of the English game once more.

The North London giants have been quiet on the incomings front so far this summer - the Euros, Copa America and Olympics have not helped matters in that regard - but a host of unwanted names have either cleared out their lockers or are about to.

A couple of names on the chopping block - Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah for example - were included in the Gunners' 26-man squad for their USA tour, where Arsenal take on Bournemouth on Wednesday before pitting their wits against Manchester United and Liverpool.

While Nelson and Nketiah are not expected to still be at the club next season regardless of how they perform in the USA, a handful of names may be playing for their futures, or for greater first-team exposure in 2024-25.

Here, Sports Mole picks out six Arsenal players who have a serious point to prove to Arteta in pre-season.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

With Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu both missing the USA tour through injury, Oleksandr Zinchenko is the only recognised left-back in Arsenal's ranks for their USA sojourn, and potentially for the whole of pre-season.

Tierney does not appear to have a future in North London and should be offloaded for the right price in the near future, while there are fears that Tomiyasu's issue could render him unavailable for all of Arsenal's friendlies, so the time is nigh for Zinchenko to reignite his Gunners career.

The former Manchester City full-back addressed an area that Arsenal had been crying out for a solution in during his debut campaign, breaking lines for fun as Arteta's inverted full-back, a role that the overlapping Tierney was not accustomed to.

However, Zinchenko has since come under fire for a perceived lack of defensive awareness and lost his spot in the first XI last season, even though over the past 365 days, he still ranks in the top 1% of full-backs in the big five leagues for progressive passes per 90 minutes.

While many of Zinchenko's teammates have been rewarded with new deals over the past two years, there have been no such discussions with the Ukrainian, whom Arsenal are apparently open to selling for the right price. Play well in the U.S., though, and the board may think twice.

Jakub Kiwior

Along the same lines, Jakub Kiwior has not quite found his feet in North London since his arrival midway through the 2022-23 campaign, a signing that raised a couple of eyebrows at the time.

Even after William Saliba suffered his devastating back injury, Rob Holding was often selected to partner Gabriel Magalhaes instead of Kiwior, who paid the price for sharing the Brazilian's left-footedness as Arsenal's title charge crashed and burned.

The Poland international will never force his way into Arteta's backline when Saliba and Gabriel are both fit, and he has since dabbled at left-back with mixed success, showcasing some nice passing at times but nothing on Zinchenko's level.

One goal and three assists from 20 Premier League games last term was not a bad return at all, as Kiwior nailed down the left-back slot during Arsenal's prolific January and February, but the versatile Tomiyasu took over as the season drew to a close.

Furthermore, by the end of the USA tour, Arsenal may have got a deal for Riccardo Calafiori over the line, a defender with an incredibly similar profile to Kiwior; both stand at 6ft 2in tall and are comfortable in the centre or left-hand side of defence.

Italian interest in Kiwior is thought to be rife, but as neither Saliba nor Gabriel will be ready for the Bournemouth game, a strong performance against the Cherries should not go unnoticed.

Myles Lewis-Skelly

Many an Arsenal academy graduate has decided to seek pastures new in the current transfer window, from Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters to 16-year-old attacking sensation Chido Obi Martin.

Thanks to the Gunners' rapid progression to a title-challenging team, Hale End products are finding it increasingly difficult to follow in the footsteps of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Nelson and Nketiah in bridging the first-team gap and becoming Arteta regulars.

However, 17-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly - who primarily plays as a defensive midfielder - certainly has the makings of a future Premier League star, and he made the bench for Arsenal in both the Champions League and Premier League last term.

Lewis-Skelly is still waiting for his competitive debut, though, and questions could have been asked of Arteta for not sending him on when the Gunners were 5-0 up against Lens. Instead, Ben White, Nketiah, Jorginho, Kiwior and Nelson were sent on in the second half.

Such a lack of opportunities may very well have had a part to play in Cozier-Duberry, Walters's and Obi Martin's decisions, but Lewis-Skelly should at least expect some fleeting minutes in a problem position for Arsenal.

Arteta's side have been frustrated in their search for a new number six this summer, but strong pre-season displays coupled with a breakthrough 2024-25 could see Lewis-Skelly eventually fill the Partey/Jorginho void.

Gabriel Jesus

The 2022-23 pre-season Gabriel Jesus was a different beast, and his scintillating start to life in an Arsenal shirt was a sign of things to come, albeit very briefly before his knees began to fail him.

Arteta was intent on keeping faith with Jesus as his main number nine last season, only for the Kai Havertz midfield experiment to fail miserably and the German to find form at the tip of the attack instead.

Havertz had already won Arteta over before hitting his stride, thereby relegating Jesus to a bit-part role in a season where he scored just four Premier League goals in 27 games, although an identical tally in eight Champions League matches was far more satisfactory.

Havertz's explosion and Arsenal's well-documented pursuit of a new striker naturally led to speculation over Jesus's future, which was quickly disregarded, and the South American supposedly feels that he will be back to his best with an uninterrupted pre-season period.

Jesus has already taken the first step towards coming good on that promise, finding the net in a 2-0 behind-closed-doors win over Leyton Orient at the weekend, and when firing on all cylinders, he takes on the exciting role of Arsenal's attacking chaos merchant.

While his ruthlessness could certainly do with touching up, the Brazilian's close control and footwork in the penalty area still dazzles and delights the Emirates crowd, who often see Jesus take up a wide position too.

However, the ex-Palmeiras starlet's preference to play centrally is no secret, and a fascinating battle with Havertz for the number nine spot could commence if he does get through pre-season injury free and with several goals to show for his efforts.

Fabio Vieira

Since Arteta stepped into the hotseat and stamped his authority on the squad - freezing out two celebrated names Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stand out as particular examples - the application of Arsenal players in training has rarely been called into question.

However, it was reported a couple of months ago that Fabio Vieira's lack of game time was down to some underwhelming performances on the practice pitches, as the 24-year-old's career stagnated in the 2023-24 campaign.

Vieira has not been short of highlights in an Arsenal shirt so far, such as his stunner against Brentford or Community Shield-winning penalty against Manchester City, but he has continuously fought a losing battle to displace Martin Odegaard or Saka in the final third.

A groin operation did not help Vieira last season, where he made just 17 appearances, but even when fully fit at the end of the season, he was often overlooked by Arteta, being an unused substitute in 10 of Arsenal's last 13 Premier League matches.

A loan move to Monaco was mooted at one stage, but if Smith Rowe is allowed to leave as expected, Arteta should not also sanction Vieira's exit, especially as the 24-year-old adds versatility to the forward line.

With Saka on holiday and Nelson on the cusp of leaving, Vieira could earn regular starts on the right in the USA, but his favoured number 10 position remains off limits while Odegaard is fit and firing.