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Mikel Arteta and his players have been training at the club's training ground at London Colney this week, after first holding a mini-camp in Marbella.

The first batch of players who featured in the World Cup over the summer are due back in the coming days, including Kai Havertz, Gabriel and Viktor Gyokeres.

Arsenal travel to Spain to meet Girona in their first pre-season friendly on August 1.

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

It is going to be a disrupted pre-season because of the staggered return of the World Cup players, but that also creates opportunities for others.

Here are three players who need to seize their chance and impress this summer...

This has quickly turned into a very important summer for Cristhian Mosquera.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a strong first season at Arsenal, covering both centre-back and right-back.

Mosquera was hugely impressive when he came on after just four minutes to replace William Saliba at Anfield last August.

A bigger opening has now arrived for him. Saliba is expected to be sidelined for months while he goes through a rehabilitation programme for his back injury.

Mosquera is the natural option in the squad to deputise alongside Gabriel and now has the opportunity to show that he is ready for it.

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

Mosquera should play plenty of minutes across the four friendlies and then the Community Shield, and it is vital that he proves he can step up and show the consistency needed to become a regular starter.

That will matter even more once Gabriel rejoins the squad, and Arteta will be watching closely to see how Mosquera builds 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 route is open for Mosquera to claim that starting centre-back place if he performs in pre-season.

For much of last season, it seemed as if Myles Lewis-Skelly might be nearing the end of his Arsenal career.

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

That changed on May 2. Lewis-Skelly made his first senior start in midfield for Arsenal against Fulham and produced a performance that transformed his future at the club.

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.

After stepping up at the most important moment of the season, Lewis-Skelly now has to build on it.

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 late for pre-season. Rice, in particular, is expected to have his minutes carefully managed so he can get back to full fitness.

Lewis-Skelly, by contrast, has had a full summer off and should be ready to start strongly.

Arsenal are looking for a new midfielder and the chase for Bruno Guimaraes looks set to become a long-running saga.

So the pressure is on Lewis-Skelly to remind Arteta of what he already has in the squad.

He offers a different type of midfielder to most in the group, confident in receiving the ball in tight spaces and driving forward with it. His ability to do that and win fouls is crucial in easing pressure.

With transfer talk continuing and several of his team-mates still away on holiday, Lewis-Skelly can make a strong statement in pre-season.

Mosquera and Lewis-Skelly are fighting for their places in the Arsenal side, but Ethan Nwaneri is facing a battle to remain at the club.

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

Arsenal are not actively trying to sell Nwaneri this summer, but it is understood that if a major offer arrived, it would be considered. Another loan move has also not been ruled out.

Letting Nwaneri go would count as pure profit on the balance sheet and would help fund moves for the winger and midfielder that Arsenal are pursuing in the market.

However, Nwaneri only signed a long-term contract last summer and still has four years left 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 into England's preparation camp before the World Cup in another sign of how he is regarded.

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

Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke are still a couple of weeks away from returning to training, so there is a vacancy on the right wing.

Nwaneri's main challenger at the moment is Max Dowman, the 16-year-old who made a huge leap in his development last season and took his chances in the first team.

These pre-season weeks are crucial for Nwaneri. Whether he forces his way into Arteta's plans or uses these matches as an audition for clubs across Europe, he needs to deliver more than most in the Arsenal squad.

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