Arsenal’s mid-season sunshine trip to Dubai cost a whopping £1.2million, it has been claimed. After the Gunners crashed out of the Carabao Cup against Newcastle United earlier this month, Mikel Arteta took his squad over to the Middle East for a six-day warm weather training camp.
The entire first-team squad and a large amount of backroom staff travelled by a private charter plane on Thursday, February 6 and came home on Wednesday, February 12. Arsenal’s trip to Dubai was a mix of rest and recuperation but they also trained hard – and had only one complete day off, as per The Mirror.
And it was during one of those training sessions where Kai Havertz suffered a serious hamstring injury. The Germany international has since undergone successful surgery and his focus is on returning for the 2025/26 season, though there is a slight chance he could feature before the end of the current campaign.
Arsenal then lost their first home game back as they were beaten 1-0 against West Ham which has all-but ended their Premier League title hopes as Liverpool moved 11 points clear on Sunday.
After the success of last season’s Dubai trip – with the Gunners going on a storming run during the business end of the campaign – it was thought that Arteta’s side could benefit from another trip to the Gulf state. But with Havertz injured and the total cost of the trip coming to £1.2m, question marks have been raised.
Arsenal also decided against signing a new striker in the January transfer window and there might be more fury aimed at Arteta and the board not to bring in a new No.9, especially with the amount spent on the Dubai trip. Havertz’s absence has left the Gunners without a recognised centre forward – with Gabriel Jesus also unavailable.
On the back of the 2024 visit, Arsenal emphasised that this campaign’s trip was considered into the budget and the players, staff and everyone had a great time and saw the benefit, both from a bonding and a training point of view. As well as the senior squad, some younger players – such as Max Dowman – travelled.
Arsenal do have powerful commercial and partner tie-ups in Dubai so sponsorship deals would have helped offset the £1.2m outlay and also strengthen future relationships.
Nottingham Forest were among the other Premier League clubs that decided to enjoy a mid-season trip, as they also went to Dubai. There is always a debate whether players would benefit more for a warm weather break or a complete rest and time at home with their families – and some others went down the second route instead.
