Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States concludes this evening with a match against Barcelona in Los Angeles. It will be the Gunners’ third game in America ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Mikel Arteta’s team has played two games in America so far, winning one and losing the other. Following a 5-0 win in the MLS All-Star game last week, the team suffered a 2-0 setback against Premier League rivals Manchester United on Saturday.
The clash against the La Liga champions will present the north Londoners with another difficult test. Xavi’s side will kick-off their pre-season schedule against Arsenal having had their fixture with Juventus called-off after several members of the squad caught viral gastroenteritis.
With Champions League football returning to the Emirates Stadium, technical director Edu Gaspar has been busy upgrading the playing squad at London Colney. £200million ($258m) has been spent on three new recruits, with Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber arriving.
Plenty of players have a point to prove ahead of the new season, with Barcelona providing them their penultimate test ahead of the start of the season. A number of players face uncertainty over their long-term and short-term future at the club and could be presented with a final chance to impress before a decision is made.
Folarin Balogun, Auston Trusty, Marquinhos, Rob Holding and Eddie Nketiah are players who have all been linked with moves away. More recently, Crystal Palace are said to have identified Nketiah as their number one target this summer whilst Balogun is attracting interest from Inter Milan, football.london understands.
Elsewhere, there is a big chance that we could see Arteta trial his preferred midfield three of Rice, Havertz and Martin Odegaard. The trio struggled against United in New Jersey, but the Spaniard insisted there were positives to take. “When they play 55 times together, it will be better, it will flow better, they will understand each other better and we will be more dominant,” he said.
“But things take time to glide and we have to respect that. But I saw a lot of positive things, things I really like much more than the game that we won although the result is very different.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu will be hoping to retain his place in Arteta’s starting XI having played 45 minutes against United at left-back. Thomas Partey is another player who will be seeking more minutes having only seen half an hour last time out.
Forward Emile Smith Rowe could start for the first time this summer. The Hale End graduate linked-up with the rest of his teammates late after winning the Under-21 European Championship with England. “We were all really happy as we knew it had been a really tough season for him with difficulties to overcome,” Arteta said.
“He had opportunities to play with England at the end and he put a lot of effort in to get into the best possible for that competition. We were all very happy to see him lift they trophy. And you can see he can do some thing different with his energy and they way he has come back he is in a really good place.”
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale, Runar Alex Runarsson, Karl Hein.
Defenders: Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Kieran Tierney, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Rob Holding, Auston Trusty.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Leandro Trossard, Fabio Vieira, Jorginho.
Attackers: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith Rowe, Folarin Balogun, Marquinhos.
