Arsenal face Real Betis in their latest pre-season friendly as they continue preparations for a Premier League title defence on a day where they moved much closer to sealing the signing of Bruno Guimaraes.
The Gunners take on their Spanish opponents – who finished fifth in LaLiga last season and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League – at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, hoping to build on a 4-1 thrashing of Girona last time out, where Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Max Dowman and new signing Christos Tzolis all scored
Mikel Arteta’s side received a boost earlier today when Brazil international Guimaraes was given permission to travel to Arsenal for a medical ahead of a £75m move from Newcastle United, after both clubs finally agreed a fee. The 28-year-old midfielder looks set to officially join in the next few days.
Arsenal are also continuing their pursuit of Guimaraes’ international team-mate Vinicius Jr, although Real Madrid are said to have offered fresh terms to the Brazilian after his return to training on Tuesday, but Arteta’s immediate focus is getting minutes into his players’ legs ahead of the Community Shield against Manchester City in two weeks’ time, with Betis offering a fascinating test this evening.
Follow all the action with our live blog below:
LAST TIME OUT: Arsenal 4-1 Girona
It was a solid day’s work for Arsenal at the weekend as they beat Girona 4-1 to kickstart their pre-season campaign in earnest.
Summer signing Christos Tzolis, bought from Club Brugge for £34m, was on target at the Estadi Municipal, as were Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, but wonderkid Max Dowman was the star as he claimed the assist for the opening goal of the game before getting on the scoresheet with a fine effort himself.
Girona, who were relegated from LaLiga last season, did reduce the deficit early in the second half with Arnau Martinez’s thumping header, but that proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
Arsenal team news – unchanged from Girona win
Here’s the Arsenal line-up this evening. Mikel Arteta is opting for an unchanged starting XI from the 4-1 win over Girona.
It means that new signing Christos Tzolis, who scored in that game, starts once more, while youngsters Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman are given a chance to shine in midfield.
Arteta took Piero Hincapie, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres off after 30 minutes against Girona as they build up fitness, so it will be interesting to see if they’re given a longer leash tonight.
Ben White also came through 60 minutes unscathed on his injury return, so will he go for a full 90 in Dublin?
There are some interesting names on the bench, most notably Brazil duo Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli – in the squad for the first time this pre-season after returning from their post-World Cup break.
Arsenal XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Calafiori; Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Havertz; Dowman, Gyokeres, Tzolis
Arsenal agree cut-price fee with Newcastle for Bruno Guimaraes
The biggest news of the day from an Arsenal perspective is that Bruno Guimaraes looks set to become a Gunner.
Guimaraes has received permission to travel to Arsenal and complete his £75m move from Newcastle United. The 28-year-old midfielder will undergo a medical at the Premier League champions within the coming days after both clubs agreed a fee.
Brazil international Guimaraes told Newcastle earlier this summer that he wanted to join Arsenal, and a deal has quickly been agreed this week after the Premier League champions entered formal talks with the Magpies.
Arsenal ready for action
Arsenal are ready to go ahead of kick-off this evening. Remember, it’s a 7.30pm start in Dublin
How to watch Arsenal v Real Betis after late channel change
Arsenal’s pre-season friendly with Real Betis kicks off at 7:30pm BST tonight at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
That’s the easy info. Now things get a bit more complicated…
After technical issues plagued the friendly against Girona that was being shown on Arsenal’s website and app, the clash tonight will now not be shown on either platform and all supporters who bought access to either the Girona match or the whole pre-season bundle are entitled to a full refund, which you can .
Tonight’s match will instead be broadcast on Premier Sports 1 instead and UK residents have access to a Premier Sports discount, using the code: ARSENAL. The offer is only valid on the full retail price monthly subscription of £17.99. The offer is for three months for £9.99 total, where the customer is billed £3.33 per month for three months. From the fourth month onwards, the subscription will auto-renew monthly at £17.99, or the then-current standard retail price.
Make sense?
You can also follow the match live with us right here, of course
Tonight’s venue – the Aviva Stadium
Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, most frequently seen hosting Ireland internationals in both football and rugby union, is the venue for tonight’s clash.
The stadium has a unique, slightly odd design with one side dipped down in a wavelike form to avoid blocking the light for local two-storey houses. I don’t mind it to be honest – something a bit different
Arsenal v Real Betis
Tonight should be a good test for Arsenal in Dublin, after Betis fifth in LaLiga last season and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
It will be fascinating to see what sort of line-up Arteta opts for as he tries to get the right amount of minutes into players’ leg ahead of the new campaign.
