Watch how Arsenal players gear up for Al Nasr friendly

DUBAI: English Premier League club Arsenal landed in Dubai in an Emirates flight late on Thursday.

The Arsenal players attended a training session at the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Complex on Friday.

Arsenal is scheduled to play a friendly against Al Nasr to formally open the Dubai side’s newly built Al Maktoum Stadium at 5.30pm on Tuesday.

Video: pic.twitter.com/MMYeaTFCIl

Gunners boss Unai Emery is using the weeklong training camp to prepare his team for the remainder of the season starting with the Premier League match against Newcastle United on April 1.

Emery is confident the decision to visit Dubai is a wise one.

He said: “It will be great to get some warm weather training and break up the usual routine as we enter the final stage of the season.

“The facilities in Dubai are fantastic and it will be an honour to be part of the formal opening ceremony for the new stadium.”

Except senior players such as Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette, much of the squad to face Al Nasr is made up of younger players with many senior stars away on international duty.

During the five-day trip to Dubai, the squad will visit the Rashid Paediatric Centre and the palace of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.

Arsenal played Al Nasr once before, back in November 1976. Malcolm Macdonald, John Matthews and John Radford were on target in a 3-1 victory.

Emirates Airline, whose partnership with Arsenal is one of the most recognisable and longstanding in the world of sport, last year announced a new sponsorship deal, granting the airline a five year extension to their shirt partnership with the Club until the end of the 2023-2024 season. The sponsorship was the largest ever signed by a club and one of the biggest ever agreed in football.

The Emirates and Arsenal partnership is also the longest running relationship in the Premier League, with the total duration of Emirates’ shirt branding spanning 18 years. Arsenal’s home also continues to be known as Emirates Stadium until 2028.

Emirates’ sponsorship and support of global football clubs and popular football events have enabled the airline to bring major clubs to the UAE to compete in unique tournaments, connecting them to their fans, as well as capitalising on opportunities that will link local clubs with international football teams through focused collaboration.

The airline’s efforts also support its vision to provide UAE football a platform to thrive at the international level, as well as further supporting the Dubai’s status as a world-class sports hub and a centre for professional sporting events.