Things to Look Out for During Arsenal’s Pre-season Tour

The 23^rd of July is when Arsenal’s pre-season tour kicks off in New York City. Every Arsenal lover out there should be excited, because the start of Arsenal’s 2014 pre-season tour means we are that much closer to a new EPL season. A new season with expectations higher than they have been in recent memory. A new season with a deeper, stronger, star studded Arsenal squad. Below are some of the many things we should all be looking forward to seeing during Arsenal’s short pre-season.

1. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott

Nov 19, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Chile forward Alexis Sanchez (7) battles for a ball with Brazil midfielder Hernanes (8) during the second half in a friendly soccer game at Rogers Centre. Brazil won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

When Ozil was in Madrid, he excelled in space with very quick players like Ronaldo and Di Maria surrounding him. It’s not fair to compare any player to Christiano Ronaldo but Alexis Sanchez brings very similar qualities to the table. Put that on the opposite side of an extremely quick and hopefully healthy Walcott and Ozil should have much more options with players more willingly running behind the defense and finishing those great through balls and passes. Arsenal’s pre-season tour would be the first time any of us get to see the Chilean, Alexis Sanchez, play and I hope everyone is as excited as I am to see this. Sanchez brings much needed pace, and skill to the team, yet the most important attribute he is bringing to this team is his eye for goal. Over the pass few years, Arsenal’s midfield have become a little to pass happy, but with aggressive shooters like Walcott and Sanchez playing alongside Ozil we should all be excited!

1. The Rise of Joel Campbell

Jun 20, 2014; Recife, Pernambuco, BRAZIL; Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell (9) controls the ball during the second half of their 1-0 win over Italy in a 2014 World Cup game at Arena Pernambuco. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal scouts have an eye for talent, and Joel Campbell is slowing growing into your typical Arsenal star. Having signed for Arsenal at a young age, Joel Campbell is growing and developing in front of all of us. However despite all the hype, Campbell is not the savior of Arsenal’s attack. Campbell is still very young and still has a lot to learn from Wenger, so don’t look for a star when the season starts. Yet the pre-season is usually a time for the youngsters of the team to show their talents to the Arsenal faithful. We should all be excited to see Campbell finally putting a red and white Arsenal jersey, we should be even more exited to see him playing in front of a great midfield with very skilled and creative players setting him up for shots on goal.

1. The Youth & Future: A Better Serge Gnabry and Gedion Zelalem

Serge Gnabry celebrates his winning goal.

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They may not be household names yet, like Mesut Ozil or Aaron Ramsey,  but they will be the future of Arsenal and we should be excited to see them play when they eventually come on for Ozil, Walcott or Sanchez half way through pre-season games. There are a lot of great youngsters in the Arsenal team such as Thomas Eisfeld, Hector Bellerin, and Daniel Crowley, but Gnabry and Zelalem are the most intriguing players of that list. We have all seen Gnabry display his blistering speed, while controlling the ball with poise and producing beautiful runs with the ball. During these pre-season games, we should be even more excited to see how he has improved. On the other hand, Gedion Zelalem is a raw youngster slowly making headlines. Not many people have seen Zelalem play on TV but the word is that he is an extremely creative, very smart footballer. Maybe we will see him demonstrate some of that creative spark during Arsenal’s pre-season games, and hopefully we will all be witnesses to the next generation