The Gunners’ latest pre-season trip takes them to France, where they will help the Ligue 1 side celebrate their 100th anniversary
Arsenal travel to Stade Raymond-Kopa in France to meet Angers in friendly action on Wednesday.
It will be the second time in four days that the Gunners have played a Ligue 1 club, having suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Lyon in the Emirates Cup on Sunday.
Unai Emery’s side, though, have enjoyed a strong pre-season campaign, in which they have beaten Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, and drawn with Real Madrid.
Angers, meanwhile, have organised this match in order to celebrate their 100th anniversary and will want to make it as much of a celebration as possible.
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
In the UK, the match will be shown on Premier Sports 1 and available to stream on Premier Sports HD.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Premier Sports 1 | Premier Sports HD |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Angers squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Butelle, Petkovic |
| Defenders | Ait Nouri, Bamba, Cisse, Manceau, Pavlovic, Pellenard, Thomas |
| Midfielders | Capelle, Mangani, Pajot, Reine-Adelaide, Santamaria |
| Forwards | Alioui, Kanga, Lopez, El Malali, Pereira Lage |
Angers could hand a debut to Mathias Pereira Lage, who arrived on Tuesday from Ligue 2 outfit Clermont.
However, they will be without Angelo Fulgini, who suffered an adductor injury against Feyenoord that will keep him out for between six and eight weeks.
Former Arsenal man Jeff Reine-Adelaide should start in midfield.
| Position | Arsenal squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Martinez, Macey |
| Defenders | Chambers, Sokratis, Mustafi, Medley, Monreal, Thompson, Maitland-Niles |
| Midfielders | Xhaka, Burton, Olayinka, Mkhitaryan, Nelson, Willock, Guendouzi |
| Forwards | Martinelli, Aubameyang, Nketiah, John-Jules |
Alexandre Lacazette will be missing for Arsenal after twisting an ankle against Lyon at the weekend, though the injury is not as serious as it first appeared.
Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Emile Smith Rowe are all injured.
Dani Ceballos has not travelled to France, while Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac are again left out.
Laurent Koscielny is absent as he attempts to manufacture a move back to France, while goalkeeper Bernd Leno has also been left out of the 20-man travelling squad.
Betting & Match Odds
Arsenal are rated as 8/15 favourites to win this match with Bet365. Angers are a 9/2 shot, while the draw is 10/3.
Match Preview
Nine days out from the start of the Premier League season, Arsenal play their penultimate friendly in what has been a packed summer against Ligue 1 side Angers.
It will be the sixth pre-season match in 15 days for Unai Emery’s side, who have won three, drawn one and lost for the first time on Sunday against Lyon.
Despite that setback, things are coming along nicely for the Gunners, who finally completed a move to sign William Saliba from Saint-Etienne, albeit loaning him immediately back, while a deal for Lille star Nicolas Pepe is expected to be completed imminently.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno certainly thinks the blend in the squad is the correct one, as he explained to the club’s official website in the aftermath of the Lyon match: “When you see how the experienced players help the young players adapt, it’s very good. And you see on the pitch everybody is like a big family, but we can also talk about negative things. Nobody gets mad at each other. I think it’s also important to be honest with each other. That’s what you need for a good performance and for a good team.”
After the setback at the weekend in a match in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given them the lead, they will want to bounce back with a more positive result in eastern France.
Angers, though, will be doing their utmost to ensure that their 100th birthday celebrations are not dampened. The Ligue 1 side have released a collector’s edition shirt especially for the occasion, and are seeking to build on a decent pre-season that saw them suffer a first defeat of the summer against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
This also represents a small chance to get one over on Emery, who beat Angers five times in five matches when in charge of Paris Saint-Germain – including the 2017 Coupe de France final.
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