Images: Arsenal Invited To Meet The Hereditary Prince of Dubai Ahead Of Tuesday’s Friendly

Arsenal were invited to me his Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum at Zabeel Palace in Dubai ahead of Tuesday’s friendly match against Al Nasr.

Given that Arsene Wenger wasn’t a fan of ‘warm-weather training’ during the season, this is the first time we’ve seen the squad embark on a trip during the season in decades.

Unai Emery and his team clearly have a different thesis on the importance of training in the heat, and the Spaniard has taken a decent squad to the Middle-East.

The likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Shkodran Mustafi are away with the team given their lack of involvement in the current round of international fixtures.

It will be interesting to see the effect this trip has, especially given the odd addition of a friendly fixture which could prove to be detrimental.

One wonders the backlash Emery will receive if Ozil or Lacazette come back with a knock which affects their involvement in the run-in.

Following the wins against Manchester United and Rennes in a matter of days, the path towards the end of the season looks clear.

We have to beat Napoli and Valencia or Villarreal in the Europa League to reach our first European final since 2006.

And, in the league, we have eight remaining games to preserve – or improve upon – our position in the top four with all our games against top-six rivals behind us.

It could still prove to be a memorable campaign.

Check out the images of the squad’s trip to the palace in the slideshow above.