Home sweet home: Viktor Gyokeres is expected to make his Emirates debut today
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are back in familiar surroundings today as they face Villarreal at the Emirates in their penultimate pre-season friendly. The Gunners produced mixed results on their tour of East Asia earlier this summer, beating AC Milan and Newcastle before losing to Tottenham in the first north London derby ever played outside the UK.
They will look to get back to winning ways on home turf today, though. It is a significant game for a crop of new faces in the Gunners squad, as the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera, and Christian Norgaard are all set to represent Arsenal in N5 for the first time. Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber are also expected to return to the fold for the match having recovered from injuries.
Villarreal make the trip up from Iberia without a win so far this summer, having shipped two losses and two draws in previous friendly outings. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Simon Collings at the Emirates.
This is the Gunners’ second-to-last pre-season outing, and they will hope to get back to winning ways after losing to Spurs last time out.
Follow along here for minute-by-minute updates, team news as soon as it drops, and insightful analysis from Simon Collings, live and direct from the Emirates.