For the first winter break in the Premier League, Arsenal have flown to Dubai where they are holding a warm-weather training camp.
The break gives the Gunners a two-week gap to recharge their batteries before the big push in the second half of the season. For Arsenal, their break comes between their matches against Burnley on February 2 and their next game at home to Newcastle on February 16.
Since arriving in December, Mikel Arteta has taken charge of nine games in six weeks. With such strain on himself and his players, he spoke about why the break would be beneficial and giving them a few days off before flying to the Middle-East.
"They needed three or four days off to relax their minds as well, recover the bodies," the Spaniard told Arsenal's official website.
"They have been through a lot in the last few months and now I think they are ready to have five or six really good training sessions here before we go back to London and focus and prepare as well as we can for the game against Newcastle.
"You have to (be able to switch off), you can’t just maintain the same level of demands of pressure throughout 10 months, it is impossible. You need those breaks.
"We suggested Dubai because we have those relationships with our sponsor, but as well because the weather conditions are really good and the players like to come here. We knew most of them were going to come here and relax with their families and be ready for training."
Appointed in the middle of the festive period, Arteta hasn't had much time to properly settle in as head coach. He has been able to stamp his mark on the club both in the way the team play and how he deals with players individually but he hasn't been able to focus on much else other than matches.
Even though what happens on the pitch will still be a big focus on he 37-year-old, he admitted he will also use this time to learn more about his players as a means of getting results.
"Hours together, to spend together, grab a coffee together, to have conversations, to have unit meetings, individual meetings, group meetings about the things we have to achieve. To review what we have done," he added on what will be done in Dubai.
"I have made a big review of what we have done so far in these five or six weeks, the things where we can improve, the areas where we have improved and that we have to maintain, that we cannot lose. Hopefully we can make another step forward as a team now.
Retiring in 2016 and spending 14 years of his professional career in England and Scotland, Arteta never got a real chance to experience a winter break as a player. Seeing the benefits of them, he admitted he wished he could have had one during his playing career.
"100% (I would have liked a winter break). We were always complaining or frustrated that the demands of games were really hectic and we didn’t have time to recover. I think it will be useful," the Spaniard said.
"Absolutely. It is not just the physical side, it is a psychological thing. To maintain for 10 months this type of level is very complicated, so I think it will be a positive thing for the league."
