Arsenal begin the second tour of their lengthy pre-season in Stavanger on Friday, where they take on local side Viking FK.
Arsene Wenger has named a relatively strong squad for the two friendlies in Scandinavia, the second of which will see the Arsenal manager locking horns with Pep Guardiola for the first time since the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager took over at Manchester City.
Before that match on Sunday Wenger will hope to give run-outs to the highly-rated youngsters he has brought along, first teamers in need of game time and perhaps even Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey, rushed back into the squad with a view to next weekend’s season opener against Liverpool.
Viking, currently seventh in the Norwegian league, ought not to prove overly stern opponents for the Gunners, who will hope to fill their boots in attack ahead of the start of the season.
Arsenal Key Performers vs MLS All-Stars
Date, time and venue
Arsenal face their Norwegian opponents at the Viking Stadion in Stavanger on Friday August 5. Kick-off is scheduled for 19:30 BST.
Where and when to watch
The game will be broadcast live on ITV 4 from 7:15pm and on the Arsenal website at the same time.
Team news and possible line ups
Jack Wilshere is the only unplanned absence from Arsenal’s travelling squad, he has remained in London to recover from a minor patella injury.
Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud were not expected to play any part in pre-season and all three now appear unlikely to start against Liverpool next Sunday. Ramsey and Sanchez have significantly higher chances of featuring as they were named in the 25-man squad.
Though predominantly made up of first-teamers the squad features several of the brightest young prospects at Arsenal, and Jeff Reine-Adelaide will be looking to celebrate his ascension to the first-team in style. With Wenger expected to name his strongest XI against Manchester City the French youngster may well start in Stavanger.
Arsenal starting line up: Ospina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Holding, Gibbs, Elneny, Coquelin, Willock, Reine-Adelaide, Campbell, Akpom
What they’re saying
Wenger: “We still have some problems to sort out - to defend better, our offensive game was quite interesting in matches. For us it’s very important to focus and improve the quality of our game.
Read More
“After that, the reality starts on August 14 for us and until then the preparation puts us in a good psychological condition to start well. We play Liverpool, go to Leicester, so the start provides very strong tests.”
Prediction
Betting odds (via 888Sport)
Viking win: 13/1
Draw: 11/2
Arsenal win: 1/6
