There was never any chance Gyokeres would be playing in the friendly against Newcastle United in Singapore on Sunday, given he was holding a medical in London on Saturday. It was impressive enough that the striker managed to make it to the stadium for an in-stadium presentation to the fans.
But Mosquera was a more unexpected absence from Sunday’s matchday squad, as the defender has been in Singapore all week and the announcement was days ago.
“He needs to start to pick up fitness again,” Arteta explained. “He played in the u21 Euros and didn’t really train with Valencia. That signing period was extended and the conditions are really tough. It’s a lot of information and physical demands, so we have to manage him.”
Arsenal have had a number of players arriving back at different times due to summer tournaments, with Fabio Vieira and new signing Noni Madueke still off after participating at the Club World Cup.
Ethan Nwaneri has returned and started playing after his own involvement in the u21 Euros, but as Arteta mentions, the difference with Mosquera is that he had that extended period where he was neither training with Valencia nor with Arsenal.
Mosquera’s final training session with Valencia was on July 14th, and it wasn’t even a full session. He then had an 11-day gap before his first session with Arsenal on July 25th.
It makes sense that he would be behind some of his new teammates in his pre-season preparations, but he has plenty of time to catch up before the campaign gets underway.
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