Pre-season training and the increasingly commercial and lucrative tours that clubs like Arsenal go on may be just a pale shadow of the competitive action of the Premier League and the domestic and European cup competitions, but it is still very important for a number of reasons.
Arsene Wenger is clearly hoping to get the new Premier League season off with a bang as he has planned a busy schedule for the Arsenal players in the build up to it, with two games in Australia then two games in China before the Emirates Cup and the Community Shield.
Now as well as being important in getting the Arsenal first team players ready for action, this period could be crucial for some members of the squad who are on the fringe and who the manager may be thinking about letting go, but which of the Arsenal players are most in need of a strong showing in pre-season to secure their futures with Arsenal?
For me I would say that Theo Walcott is one, especially after we signed Lacazette and are being linked with another wide forward, either Lemar or Mahrez. Giroud’s place, in the squad at least, seems to be safe but there have been Arsenal transfer rumours linking Walcott with West Ham so I think he needs to show Wenger that he can have a big say on the season.
Other players I think need to be shining over the next month or so are Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey and maybe even Granit Xhaka. Who do you think has a lot to prove to the boss?
Bob.