Inside Mikel Arteta's meticulously planned US tour as he prepares Arsenal for the title tilt

In the months leading up to Arsenal’s US pre-season tour, something was concerning Mikel Arteta.

As he saw it, he needed strong opposition on the schedule to fine-tune his team ahead of a defining season, his fifth full campaign at the helm. He confirmed with club executives including managing director Richard Garlick and sporting director Edu, and a list was drawn up.

They would face Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United in Philadelphia and Los Angeles respectively, then League One Wrexham, in the States by way of their Hollywood owners.

But Arteta has a strong voice on such matters. Mail Sport understands Arsenal were initially preparing to face Wrexham in a different US state, but Arteta wanted the team to stay in LA and not travel any further. The club’s hierarchy agreed it was the right move and switched opponents to another top-flight side, Bournemouth.

It helps to explain why the match was only announced at three weeks’ notice, and was a contrast to rivals such as Chelsea and Liverpool, who cris-crossed the States visiting five and three states respectively.

It may seem incidental, but when bidding to wrest away the Premier League title from the formidable Manchester City at the third time of asking, this is the kind of work that is necessary.

It is the next step for Arteta and his men after taking the title race to the final day last season, and leading the way before an implosion with a month to go in the 2022-23 campaign.

He is leaving no stone unturned, and the build-up to this summer’s tour had actually begun last year. Mail Sport understands that Arteta was seriously unhappy in private last summer over the state of the SoFi Stadium pitch in LA for a friendly against Barcelona.

The game was delayed by 30 minutes as ground staff scurried to patch up pitch problems with tools.

Arteta’s frustrations were relayed to the SoFi Stadium management team, who vowed to the club that a repeat would not occur and worked hard for the past 11 months to ensure so.

For the game against United in LA, they had begun growing the grass for the pitch in Palm Springs last August, and sent someone down to the plant every month to check on its progress.

An unusual move, but one that shows how seriously the stadium took the club’s concerns - and the meticulous nature at Arsenal.

The Gunners’ first stop in the US was at a five-star Four Seasons hotel in the secluded Thousand Oaks - a quiet area 40 miles from downtown LA with a population just over 100,000. A far cry from Beverly Hills where United were staying.

Arsenal had stayed at this hotel for their US pre-season tour last year and liked it that much, the club decided to stay once again. Training took place at the nearby California Lutheran University, on pitches once used by the LA Rams, the NFL side also owned by the Kroenke family.

The facilities carry with them good omens, having been where the Rams trained ahead of their Super Bowl victory in 2022. It was their first title in 22 years, just a year longer than Arsenal’s own wait to return to the summit of English football.

How do they get there? Well, speak to fans and the calls are much the same as last summer - the club need to sign a striker.

But the signing of £42million Italy centre back Riccardo Calafiori and the pursuit of Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino reflects Arteta’s belief that bolstering the frontline is not a priority.

Particularly when they have scored a combined 179 goals in the last two seasons, with the most recent campaign’s 91 their most since the 1952-53 title winners.

Part of the reason for the calm is that those around the Arsenal camp were particularly impressed with the condition Gabriel Jesus has come back in.

The Brazilian, who has been plagued by knee injuries since the World Cup in December 2022, arrived in serious shape, a muscular body suggesting he’s been working hard over the summer and ready to hit the ground running. It is a big season for the £45m man after just four league goals last term, with Kai Havertz eventually displacing him as Arsenal’s starting No9 for the run-in. And he may have extra motivation from being left out of Brazil’s Copa America squad for the tournament in the States.

But if Jesus is able to maintain his fitness, he has a potentially big role to play, particularly due to his versatility which means he also provides an option out wide.

As for Arteta, he too seems a different man compared to a year ago.

Last summer, he was guarded around the media - possibly wearing the wounds of that April collapse where the Gunners dropped nine points in four games and saw their dreams slip away. This time, the Spaniard was more receptive and open.

Maybe he now feels Arsenal are finally on the brink of a league title after seeing his team take City right to the final day.

Sporting director Edu could be seen pacing around the Four Seasons hotel with his AirPods in - the case labelled with his name - getting business done, and finalising the Calafiori deal.

A deal that bolsters Arsenal’s solid defensive backbone, and provides Arteta with eight fit senior defenders which he likes as a base.

Aside from transfers in, the tour gave the north London club’s youngsters a rare chance to prove their worth at the senior level.

The Gunners brought 12 academy players with them, up from just one last season - Amario Cozier-Duberry, who joined Brighton this summer after his contract expired.

Extra space for the Gunners’ best young talent was freed up by the likes of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and David Raya not joining the squad after an extended rest period for playing in the Euros final.

The heavy cohort of youngsters naturally gravitated towards each other, though the whole squad bonded through gym sessions and table tennis matches.

It was a pair of 17-year-olds who emerged as the most likely to break into the first-team squad this season, as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly shone on the pitch.

The pair have continued training with the squad since returning to London. For Nwaneri, it certainly feels like the time for his full integration is now after making his first-team debut two years ago against Brentford in September 2022, when he became the Premier League’s youngest ever player at just 15.

Lewis-Skelly has come through the academy as a midfielder but is being moulded by Arteta as a left back who can invert into midfield when Arsenal have the ball, hoping to replicate the success Oleksandr Zinchenko had in that role when he joined from City two seasons ago. Lewis-Skelly put in a strong showing both in defence with robust tackles and in possession when he started in his new role in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

Arsenal kick off their Premier League season at home to Wolves on August 17, and face a tricky opening with trips to Aston Villa, Tottenham and City in their first five matches. Having come up agonisingly short two seasons in a row, they know more than ever just how hard it will be to get past City at last.

But as Arteta has shown on this tour, he’s more prepared than ever - down to every last blade of grass.