New Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has been full of praise for his assistant head coach Steve Bould as the club’s backroom staff have been putting the players through their paces. Read on for more from Gunners reporter Layth Yousif.

Unai Emery and his backroom team have been working hard putting the players through their paces as they prepare to jet off to South East Asia – with the Spaniard hailing assistant coach Steve Bould.

Ahead of the Gunners facing Atletico Madrid at the Singapore National Stadium on Thursday, July 26 - the side that knocked them out of the Europa League at the semi-final stage last season – Emery has been full of praise for the long-serving Bould.

Judging by the work Emery and his two assistant coaches - his loyal lieutenant Juan Carlos Carcedo and Steve Bould - are carrying out on the pitches of London Colney the Arsenal squad will be as prepared as they have ever been.

Emery has been talking about the long-serving Bould in response to a question from the Islington Gazette at the club’s training HQ this week.

The 46-year-old, when asked how he found working with Bould, said the relationship was going “very well,” before adding: “For me in all my career I want to work with a person with experience, a club man.

“And Steve is first, like a person, very good and like a player also.

“With his experience he knows very well the club, he knows very well all the people who work here.

“He knows very well the players. And for me that is very important because he helps every day on the pitch. He helps every day in the dressing room and I am very, very happy with him.”

Two days after the Atletico date they play Emery’s old club PSG at the same venue before flying back before making the short trip to Ireland where they will line-up against Chelsea at the Avivia Stadium on Wednesday, August 1.

On Saturday, August 4 their opponents will be Sevilla in Stockholm, the club with which Emery won three Europa League trophies.

The former Sevilla boss confirmed Mesut Ozil and new signing Lucas Torreira will not on the plane to the island state as both midfielders needed time off after appearing at the World Cup.

Despite Ozil’s German side failing to qualify from the group stages the Arsenal head coach insisted the gifted playmaker and Torreira – whose Uruguay team reached the quarter-finals only to lose to eventual winners France – will be given a much-needed holiday.

He said: “Every player he has four week, between three and four weeks for holidays.

“The difference is because the break will finish between the travel in Singapore and for that many players come before and will go with us to Singapore. And other players will start when we arrive here from Singapore. But three to four weeks for every player for holidays.”