Arsenal Confirm Two European Pre-Season Friendlies

Overview

• Arsenal announced that they will play Girona at the Estadi Montilivi on August 1 and Real Betis at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on August 5 as the opening fixtures of their 2026/27 pre-season.
• Media reports say the club is in advanced talks to add two home friendlies, with Borussia Dortmund and Como 1907 named as frontrunners and potential dates reported as August 9 and 12, though those matches remain unconfirmed.
• The club expects to stage one or more behind-closed-doors matches as coaching staff manage the staggered return and extra rest of players involved in the World Cup.
• Arsenal opted to keep pre-season in Europe and forego a tour to Asia or the United States this summer to limit travel and protect players returning late from international duty.
• The tight schedule is shaped by the Community Shield on August 16 in Cardiff and could produce a compact run of public and closed-door games at the Emirates that may include a Como match that would return coach Cesc Fàbregas to north London if confirmed.