Unai Emery will face his first major test as Gunners boss when his side meet last season’s Europa League champions in Singapore
Unai Emery will look to kick off his Arsenal reign in earnest on Thursday as his side face Europa League champions Atletico Madrid at the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, in their opening game of the 2018 International Champions Cup.
The Spaniards, under Diego Simeone, knocked out their English opponents in the semi-finals of last year’s Europa League 2-1 on aggregate, thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa.
Now, with a new coach at the helm and following on from an 8-0 dispatch of Boreham Wood to kick off pre-season, the Gunners will look to serve up some revenge at the start of their ICC campaign.
The game is one of two both Arsenal and Atletico will play in Kallang, with the pair to face off against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday and Monday respectively before each returning to Europe.
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| Game | Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal |
| Date | Thursday, July 26 |
| Time | 12:30pm BST / 7:30am ET |
In the United States (US) the game will be not be shown live on television, but it will be available to stream live online via ESPN+ and ESPNU.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | ESPN+ |
In the United Kingdom (UK), too, the game will be aired on Premier Sports as well as streamed online by the channel.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Premier Sports | Premier Sports |
| Position | Atletico Madrid squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Oblak, Adan, dos Santos |
| Defenders | Juanfran, Aitor, Solano, Montero, Tachi, Carlos Isaac |
| Midfielders | Rodrigo, Thomas, Vitolo, Carro, Oscar, Joaquin, Moya, Olabe |
| Forwards | Mollejo, Correa, Gameiro, Vietto, Borja |
Atletico have travelled to Singapore without a host of key names, with World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann among those absent from the 23-man party.
Uruguay defensive pair Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez are also missing as they are rested following their participation in Russia, as is Croatia’s Sime Vrsaljko.
Potential Atletico Madrid XI: Adan; Juanfran, Solano, Tachi, Aitor; Rodrigo, Joaquin, Thomas; Mollejo, Correa; Vietto.
| Position | Arsenal squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Cech, Leno, Martinez |
| Defenders | Holding, Mustafi, Chambers, Bellerin, Mavropanos, Kolasinac, Osei-Tutu, Sokratis |
| Midfielders | Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Ozil, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Willock, Guendouzi, Nelson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi |
| Forwards | Nketiah, Perez, Lacazette, Aubameyang |
Arsenal have much more illustrious talent to call upon, including the trio of Mesut Ozil, Mohamed Elneny and Alex Iwobi who all return to the fold following their World Cup participation.
Unai Emery has also included new signings Bernd Leno, Sokratis and Matteo Guendouzi alongside a host of first-team regulars for the Gunners.
Potential Arsenal XI: Cech; Bellerin, Sokratis, Mavropanos, Osei-Tutu; Maitland-Niles, Ozil, Iwobi; Perez, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Arsenal are marginal favourites with dabblebet, with the north Londoners priced at 11/10 to win the game. Atletico can be found at 9/4 to secure victory while a draw is 5/2.
Click here to see all of dabblebet’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Unai Emery will be able to get a proper measure of his squad for the first time as Arsenal look to kick off their South-East Asian stopover in the 2018 International Champions Cup with a win against Atletico Madrid in Singapore.
The Gunners dismantled Boreham Wood 8-0 before they left, but against such inferior opposition, it is unlikely their new manager will have seen it as a gauge of his team’s potential.
Though depleted by the absence of squad members who played in the latter stages of the World Cup, Atletico will pose a sterner test.
Ahead of their opening game of the ICC at the National Stadium in Kallang, though, Emery is satisfied with the way his side have prepared so far for the 2018/19 campaign since arriving in Singapore.
“I am very happy with the work every day and with the performance of the players,” he said.
“For us it is hot, but it is nice. We are settling in very well.”
Arsenal follow their encounter with the Europa League champions with a clash against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday in Kallang before flying back to Europe.
They then wrap up their ICC campaign in a London derby with Chelsea in Dublin on Wednesday, August 1.
Atletico, meanwhile, lock horns with PSG on Monday before they finish their pre-season campaign off with a clash against Inter.