Arsenal will hope to complete their pre-season tour of the United States on Wednesday against a Barcelona side that is recovering from a sickness outbreak in the squad.
While Barca’s pre-season is yet to get underway after they were forced to cancel their opening friendly of the tour against Juventus, Arsenal have played three times this summer but produced a mixed set of results.
After being held to a 1-1 draw by FC Nurnberg, the Gunners brushed aside the MLS All-Stars but were disjointed in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Premier League rivals Man Utd on Saturday.
Arsenal’s performance against United did raise some concerns, although Mikel Arteta has plenty of time to stumble upon his optimal formula heading into 2023/24. Another tricky test awaits the north London club in the form of the La Liga champions.
Here’s our preview of the contest.
Arsenal vs Barcelona H2H record (Last Five Games)
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United Kingdom |
arsenal.com |
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United States |
ESPN App |
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DAZN |
Oleksandr Zinchenko remains out for Arsenal, so either Kieran Tierney or Jakub Kiwior could start at left-back after Takehiro Tomiyasu was given the nod last time out.
Leandro Trossard has impressed in pre-season and could replace Kai Havertz, while Thomas Partey or Jorginho may come back in for Declan Rice. Jurrien Timber impressed against United and could retain his place, while Eddie Nketiah should be dropped after a tough pre-season so far.
Gabriel Jesus will likely start up top, although Folarin Balogun is in contention.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Partey, Odegaard, Trossard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
We don’t know who exactly was hit by the virus, with Barcelona saying “a significant part of the Blaugrana squad has viral gastroenteritis” ahead of their postponed clash with Juventus.
Such ambiguity renders any team predictions tricky and likely futile, but we do know that Alejandro Balde will miss out due to an ankle injury. Jules Kounde is also a doubt, so Ronald Araujo could be deployed at right-back.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Arsenal (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; R. Araujo, Garcia, Martinez, Alonso; Roberto, Romeu, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi.
Arsenal were poor against Man Utd on Saturday, but they haven’t become a bad team overnight and Arteta will likely return familiar figures to the fold on Wednesday after new signings Rice and Havertz struggled.
Barcelona’s tour has been disrupted by a stomach bug and such ill-preparations don’t exactly stand them in good stead for a clash against an Arsenal side that’ll be determined to finish their tour on a positive note.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona
