Three Arsenal players who must impress Mikel Arteta as pre-season ramps up | OneFootball

Staggered returns of World Cup stars offers key chance for Gunners trio

Mikel Arteta and his players have been working at the club's training ground at London Colney this week, having held a mini-camp in Marbella before that.

The first group of players involved at the World Cup over the summer will return in the coming days, including Kai Havertz, Gabriel and Viktor Gyokeres.

Arsenal fly to Spain to face Girona in their opening pre-season friendly on August 1.

They will then take on Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund and Como, before the Community Shield against Manchester City.

It will be a disrupted pre-season due to the staggered return of the World Cup players, but that opens the door for others.

Here are three players who need to take their opportunity to impress this summer...

This has suddenly become a very significant summer for Cristhian Mosquera.

The 22-year-old had a strong first season at Arsenal, filling in both at centre-back and at right-back.

Mosquera was extremely impressive when coming on after just four minutes to replace William Saliba at Anfield last August.

A bigger opportunity has now presented itself to him. Saliba is expected to be out for months as he undergoes a rehabilitation programme on his back injury.

Mosquera is the obvious choice in the squad to cover alongside Gabriel and has the chance to prove he is ready to do so.

He was not involved at the World Cup and so has been working with Arteta since the start of pre-season.

Mosquera should get plenty of minutes in the four friendlies and then the Community Shield, with it crucial he shows he is capable of stepping up and displaying the consistency to be a regular starter.

That will be particularly key once Gabriel joins up with the squad again and Arteta will be keeping a very close eye on how Mosquera develops a partnership with him.

Arsenal are interested in signing John Stones and Ezri Konsa. However, Stones is currently on holiday without a club and Konsa will not return for pre-season at Aston Villa until later next month.

The path is clear for Mosquera to grab that starting centre-back spot if he delivers in pre-season.

Myles Lewis-Skelly

For much of last season, it felt as though Myles Lewis-Skelly might be coming towards the end of his Arsenal career.

He had fallen down the pecking order at left-back behind Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori, and there were no opportunities in midfield.

That was until May 2. Lewis-Skelly made his first senior start in midfield for Arsenal against Fulham and put in a performance that turned his career at the club around.

Arteta immediately trusted Lewis-Skelly to keep his place, starting him there against Atletico Madrid a few days later and then in the Champions League final.

Having stepped up at the most crucial stage of the season, Lewis-Skelly now needs to kick on.

Stepping up: Myles Lewis-Skelly may have saved his Arsenal career with an impressive stint in midfield

Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino will all return to pre-season late. Rice in particular is expected to have his minutes managed to get him back to full fitness.

Lewis-Skelly, by contrast, is well rested after a summer off and should be able to hit the ground running.

Arsenal are in the market for a new midfielder and the pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes looks like being a saga that will drag on.

The pressure is on Lewis-Skelly, then, to remind Arteta of what he already has.

He is a different profile of midfielder to most in the squad, confident in taking the ball in tight spaces and driving with it. His ability to do that and draw fouls is so important in relieving pressure.

With transfer rumours ongoing and several of his team-mates still on holiday, Lewis-Skelly can make a big statement in pre-season.

Ethan Nwaneri

Mosquera and Lewis-Skelly are battling for their places in the Arsenal side, but Ethan Nwaneri faces a fight to stay at the club.

The 19-year-old's career has stalled after a disastrous loan spell at Marseille, during which his commitment was brought into question by his manager.

Arsenal are not pushing to sell Nwaneri this summer but it is understood that if a significant offer came in, it would be considered. Another loan move has also not been ruled out.

Selling Nwaneri would represent pure profit on the balance sheet and would help fund moves for the winger and midfielder that Arsenal are in the market for.

However, Nwaneri only signed a long-term contract last summer and there are still four years remaining on that deal.

Battle: Ethan Nwaneri is in a fight to prove he has a future at Arsenal

He is highly-rated at the club and one frustrating loan spell has not changed that. Thomas Tuchel called him up to England's preparation camp before the World Cup in another sign of how he is viewed.

Nwaneri had the summer off after that and joined up with Arsenal for the start of pre-season.

Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke are still a couple of weeks away from being back in training and so there is an opening on the right wing.

Nwaneri's main challenger for now is Max Dowman, the 16-year-old who last season took a huge step forward in his development and grabbed his opportunities in the first team.

These pre-season weeks are pivotal for Nwaneri. Whether it be forcing his way into Arteta's plans or using these matches as an audition for clubs across Europe, he needs to perform more than most in the Arsenal squad.