Arteta awaiting ‘security decision’ on Arsenal’s Middle East trip

Arsenal are not yet sure of their mid-season plans, with a trip to Dubai potentially affected by political tensions in the Middle East.

With the introduction of a break in the Premier League schedule in 2019-20, Arsenal had been set for a four-day training camp ahead of the February 16 Premier League match against Newcastle United.

But top-flight rivals Manchester United have scrapped plans for their own possible Qatar break due to political tensions in the region.

Arsenal will assess the safety of a potential trip before deciding whether to follow suit, head coach Arteta told reporters.

“The security decision will be the priority,” Arteta said. “If we are advised by the club and the people making those decisions that it’s not safe, we won’t be going anywhere.

“We talked about different options in this break to go away and live together in a different environment with better weather conditions and a little bit away from here.

“We still have a few things to look after from a club perspective, and when we know all that, we will confirm what we are doing. At the moment, we have two or three different options.”

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The Gunners play Burnley on February 2, two weeks before Newcastle’s visit, although any need for a replay against Bournemouth in the FA Cup fourth round would cut into that lay-off