Arsenal may not have landed Morgan Rogers and/or Vinicius Jr. like they had hoped they would, but they have had a pretty exciting summer transfer window anyway. Bruno Guimaraes, the latest signing, was officially “unveiled” to the Gunners faithful ahead of the “Emirates Cup” defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund this past weekend.
Guimaraes made a £75 million move from Newcastle United last week and it is reasonable to expect that he debuts in an Arsenal shirt tomorrow night.
Final Friendly of the Preseason
Arsenal vs Como
Kickoff: 7:30pm BST, Wednesday Aug. 12
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Arsenal Preview Content: Team News Predicted Starting XI
Arsenal Team News
Most likely, the Brazilian will make his Gunners debut off the bench, but you never know. He could start, and just be subbed off at halftime. Elsewhere there isn’t a ton of new injury related news right now. William Saliba and Jurrien Timber remain out, and that’s pretty much it.
Obviously, the main storyline here will be the opposing manager, Cesc Fabregas.
The current Como boss made his first senior team appearance, for any club, in 2003 for Arsenal.
He played for the club all the way until 2011, making 212 appearances over that span. This will be the first time that he faces the North Londoners as a manager.
The real team news for Arsenal is more about who is coming back into the team, and what role they’ll play in this match, the final preseason tune-up ahead of the Community Shield. David Raya, fresh off winning the World Cup with Spain, should start in between the sticks.
We don’t think Mikel Arteta will begin the game with his number 1 shot-stopper on the bench.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze have all returned to the side after helping England to a third place finish at the tournament. But we’re thinking they’ll begin this game on the bench, and not in the first team.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.