Arsenal host Bayer Leverkusen in their penultimate pre-season friendly today.
The Germans arrive in the capital having won the Bundesliga without losing a game in 2023-24, whereas the Gunners again fell short of lifting a first Premier League title in two decades.
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Mikel Arteta has continued his evolution-not-revolution approach to building his team over the summer with a win, draw and loss racked up against English opposition on tour in the United States.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, drew 2-2 at Lens last time out as they prepare to kick off with the German Super Cup later this month.
This friendly is followed by Lyon’s visit on the weekend, which will be the traditional Emirates Cup curtain-raiser for the new season.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen is scheduled for a 6pm BST kick-off today on Wednesday August 7, 2024.
The match will take place at Emirates Stadium in north London.
Where to watch Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Arsenal TV.
Live stream: Fans can catch the contest live online via the official club app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen team news
Arteta will decide whether to hand Riccardo Calafiori a first appearance in an Arsenal shirt against Leverkusen, after the new signing joined his teammates for training in the United States.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba, Aaron Ramsdale and David Raya all began their pre-seasons on the weekend so could feature.
Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios is out for four weeks after undergoing surgery on a knee injury at the start of the week.
Martin Terrier is the big £17million addition from Rennes for Xabi Alonso’s team and he scored in the draw at Lens, which also saw fellow new faces Aleix Garcia and Jeanuel Belocian start.
Alejandro Grimaldo will hope to make his pre-season bow after a return from his post-Euro 2024 break.
Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction
This will be a good test for both teams and Arsenal may have the edge with the home crowd behind them.
Arsenal to win, 2-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
These teams’ only competitive meetings to date came in the 2001-02 Champions League second group stage, with a 1-1 draw in Germany followed by Arsenal winning 4-1 at Highbury.
