Arsenal host Italian side Como in their final pre-season friendly of the summer at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, August 12, with kick-off at 7.30pm UK time. The match will be streamed for free on Arsenal's official YouTube channel, meaning supporters can watch without a TV sports subscription.
Pre-season form and absentees
The Premier League champions have had an up and down summer schedule, having lost their last two matches. A number of players have been absent due to extended breaks following the World Cup, with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, David Raya and Mikel Merino, among others, only now returning to training.
Manager and opposition
Former Gunner Cesc Fabregas brings his Como side to the Emirates this evening as Mikel Arteta builds up towards the Community Shield against Manchester City this weekend in Cardiff. Como will be in this season's Champions League, with Fabregas having done a fantastic job with the Serie A outfit.
New signings and quotes
Two new signings could play this evening: Arsenal's Bruno Guimaraes and Como's Trevoh Chalobah. Mikel Arteta said of Guimaraes: "I think he describes himself as a warrior. I think he's a warrior with a tremendous quality as well and intuition and leadership and charisma that is going to help us, that is going to really ignite something different in the team. I'm delighted to have him. We see very clearly - especially the energy that he brought immediately to the training ground - the hunger, the desire to come here and create a big history at the club. That's the ambition that we need. We want to go to the next level and are very, very much convinced that we're going to need players with such a personality, desire and character to push everybody inside the organisation to go even higher."
Fabregas said of Chalobah: "Trevoh is an important signing for us and a player who represents the level of ambition we have at this club. He is a leader who can raise the level of the team, and I am very happy that he has chosen Como."
