Arsenal take on Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup in North London
Arsenal take on Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup in North London
The Emirates Cup clash between Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund will give Mikel Arteta yet another look at the readiness of his squad ahead of the new season. This is the first of two games taking place at the Gunners’ home ground in four days before they travel to Wales to take on Manchester City in the FA Community Shield.
Bruno Guimaraes could be involved in the match following his £75million move from Newcastle United. Christos Tzolis and Illan Meslier could also both make their home debuts in front of a sold-out crowd, excited to return, having been crowned Premier League champions in May.
Hundreds of thousands of supporters lined the streets, but have yet to see the team take to their stage since lifting the trophy at Selhurst Park. Dortmund will provide a good test before the real competitions begin in less than a fortnight.
All the action and build-up to come on football.london with our Arsenal reporter Tom Canton.
As reported last week, Odegaard rejoined the squad this week in London.
He starts today. Gyokeres, Hincapie and Havertz started and played 30 minutes in Girona; we may see something similar with the skipper here, too.
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard will rejoin his teammates following friendly with Real Betis
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard will rejoin his teammates following friendly with Real Betis(Image: Jan Langhaug / NTB / AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal: Kepa, Mosquera, White, Gabriel, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard (C), Havertz, Dowman, Gyokeres, Tzolis
Substitutes: Hincapie, Jesus, Martinelli, Vieira, Nwaneri, Nelson, Meslier, Setford, Salmon, Kabia, Ibrahim, Ogunnaike, Julienne, O’Neill
We'll soon get the Arsenal line-ups! However, we are not expecting Bruno Guimaraes to be involved in today's matchday squad.
The player has been training but has not completed enough sessions to be involved in a match after his return from holiday from Newcastle was interupted by his move to North London.
Arsenal’s signing of Bruno Guimaraes played out over several weeks in a very public way. Despite the player waiting patiently in Brazil for others to secure his amicable exit from the club he has grown to love and be loved by, talks progressed slowly while reporting around the saga kept supporters on eager to learn more.
Behind the scenes, Arsenal remained calm despite initial intimations that the Magpies would demand a figure in the region of £100million. Early unofficial discussions centred around a fee north of £45million with several verbal proposals made which crept the price up above £60million.
Newcastle sources, however, remained adamant for weeks that ‘direct contact’ had not been made with the first confirmation from the northeast that Arsenal had opened official talks was on August 3, just two days before the deal was agreed and the player granted permission to complete his medical.
Bruno Guimaraes has signed for Arsenal after several years of interest.
Bruno Guimaraes has signed for Arsenal after several years of interest.(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal have played Dortmund eight times since 2002, winning four, drawing one and losing three.
The two sides have not played eachother since November 2014, with goals from Yaya Sonogo and Alexis Sanchez ensuring a 2-0 win for the Gunners.
Hello and welcome to football.london's coverage of Arsenal's Emirates Cup clash with Borussia Dortmund.
Updates and coverage from our reporter Tom Canton to follow...