Arsenal are boosted by two key returns for today's pre-season friendly against Real Betis in Dublin. Brazilian duo Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli were both given a mandatory extended post-World Cup break after helping their national team reach the last 16, therefore missing the behind-closed-doors win over MK Dons on July 25.
They did link up with their Arsenal team-mates in Spain last week in preparation for the friendly against Girona, but were left out of the matchday squad entirely by manager Mikel Arteta. With a few more training sessions under their belts, both are likely to feature from the bench at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday evening as the Gunners' pre-season preparations continue.
Team news and lineup
Arteta was cautious with Piero Hincapie, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres in the win over Girona, withdrawing the trio after 30 minutes but has not repeated the trick with Gabriel and Martinelli against Betis. Ben White came through 60 minutes unscathed on his return from a knee injury, and starts again at right-back with Jurrien Timber not involved.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has returned after his post-World Cup holiday but does not feature, therefore Ethan Nwaneri is handed a chance to impress in midfield once again. The youngster is joined in the engine room by Havertz and Myles Lewis-Skelly due to Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino being still on their breaks, and a deal for Bruno Guimaraes not yet finalised.
Confirmed starting XI
Max Dowman and Christos Tzolis were both on target in the 4-1 win over Girona and keep their places in attack as Arteta has named an unchanged team from four days ago.
Arsenal XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Havertz, Nwaneri, Dowman, Tzolis, Gyokeres
Substitutes: Meslier, Ranson, Gabriel, Jesus, Martinelli, Vieira, Nelson, Agustien, Clarke, Copley, Harriman-Annous, Ibrahim, Julienne, Kabia, Ogunnaike, O'Neill, Salmon.
Time and date: 7.30pm BST on Wednesday August 5, 2026
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
How to watch: Premier Sports
