Capping off their pre-season preparations in front of the North London crowd, Arsenal defend their Emirates Cup crown against Ligue 1 giants Monaco on Wednesday evening.
The Gunners crushed Sevilla 6-0 last year to win the friendly cup for the sixth time, while Monaco finished in third place in the 2014 tournament during their only previous appearance.
Match preview
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A few teething problems have inevitably arisen as Arsenal new boys Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber gel with the squad, and more than a few eyebrows were raised when Manchester United ran out 2-0 winners over Mikel Arteta's side in the United States.
However, Arsenal cut out the individual errors that sparked their downfall against the Red Devils when they butted heads with Barcelona on July 26, putting five goals past the La Liga champions in an exhilarating 5-3 triumph, with the effervescent Leandro Trossard scoring twice on the day.
Barca boss Xavi took issue with Arsenal's intensity in that Los Angeles affair, claiming that their English counterparts treated that exhibition encounter like a Champions League match, which should realistically come as little surprise given that the Gunners are gearing up for their return to the European big time after a seven-year absence.
Before Champions League and Premier League duties take centre stage, Arsenal seek a seventh Emirates Cup title after hitting Sevilla for six in the 2022 edition, which marked their third success from the last four iterations of the friendly tournament, the one aberration being a 2019 defeat to Lyon under Unai Emery.
Another slice of silverware will be on the line for Arsenal this weekend too, as Arteta's men have the honour of battling treble winners Manchester City for Community Shield glory, before another prolonged fight with Pep Guardiola's side for top-flight stardom.
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In contrast, Monaco will not be present in the Champions League or any European competition next season following a turbulent campaign under the tutelage of Philippe Clement, who has now handed control of the reins to former Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter.
Following back-to-back third-placed finishes in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns, Monaco were made to pay for defensive deficiencies in the 2022-23 season as they laboured to a sixth-placed finish, finding the back of the net 70 times but shipping 58 at the other end of the field.
A miserable stretch of end-of-season form - which saw Monaco win just one of their last seven games and lose each of their final three - saw the Monegasques board pull the trigger on Clement, whose replacement Hutter has overseen a mixed period of pre-season preparations.
Alongside a trio of successive wins over Real Betis, Leeds United and Bologna, Monaco have also shared the spoils with Union Saint-Gilloise, while falling short against Cercle Brugge and Genoa, losing to the latter 1-0 on Saturday.
Despite finishing one place below Arsenal in the 2014 Emirates Cup, Monaco defeated the Gunners 1-0 that year courtesy of a Radamel Falcao effort, before also dumping Arsene Wenger's men out of the 2014-15 Champions League last 16 on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate draw.
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Team News
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Injury concerns are already rearing their ugly heads for Arsenal ahead of the new campaign, as all of Rice (knock), Folarin Balogun (foot) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) sat out the win over Barcelona alongside known absentees Reiss Nelson (toe) and Albert Sambi Lokonga (muscle).
Record signing Rice could force his way back into contention, having only suffered from a contact injury in training, while Balogun and Zinchenko are not expected to be sidelined for long, but Arteta might exercise caution with the latter given his history of calf problems.
Timber started at left-back against Barcelona with Zinchenko sidelined, but Kieran Tierney is a candidate to step in amid claims that he could now continue in Arsenal colours next season, and despite talk of a potential swoop for Brentford's David Raya, Aaron Ramsdale retains the number one jersey for the time being.
Meanwhile, Monaco boss Hutter split his squad into two groups for their pair of friendlies with Bologna and Genoa - which took place a day apart - and the latter fixture saw Axel Disasi wear the captain's armband.
However, the centre-back is now believed to be on the verge of a £38.5m move to Chelsea and has likely played his final game for Les Monegasques, while Breel Embolo - who was plagued by a knee injury last season - is also set to miss out.
Monaco's only summer signing so far - Swiss goalkeeper Philipp Kohn - should start as the last line of the visitors' defence, while Wissam Ben Yedder will spearhead the charge against a side once tipped to bring him to the Premier League.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Partey, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Trossard
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Matsima, Maripan, Okou; Vanderson, Camara, Fofana, Henrique; Golovin, Volland; Ben Yedder
We say: Arsenal 3-1 Monaco
Monaco may have enjoyed the better of this fixture to date, and not many Gooners should be pre-occupied with thoughts of revenge from previous Emirates Cup and Champions League failures, but we can only picture one outcome either way.
Arteta has not found the perfect defensive formula in pre-season, but Arsenal's strength in depth up top should come to the fore against a Monaco side sure to be reeling from the imminent departure of Disasi, as the Gunners lift the Emirates Cup for the seventh time.
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Ben Knapton
