Arsenal will end their pre-season as they defend their Emirates Cup against Monaco on Wednesday. Monaco placed third in the competition in their lone prior outing in 2014, while the Gunners defeated Sevilla 6-0 to win the friendly cup for the sixth time last year.
Preview (Arsenal vs Monaco)
When Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, and Jurrien Timber joined Arsenal, there have unavoidably been some teething issues. Additionally, when Manchester United defeated Mikel Arteta’s team 2-0 in the United States, several people expressed surprise. Arsenal, on the other hand, avoided the individual mistakes that led to their defeat against the Red Devils when they clashed with Barcelona on July 26. The La Liga champions were defeated 5-3, with the vivacious Leandro Trossard scoring twice on the day.
Since the Gunners are preparing to make their long-awaited comeback to the European elite after a seven-year absence, Barca manager Xavi took issue with Arsenal’s intensity in that Los Angeles match, alleging that their English counterparts treated that exhibition match like a Champions League match. After beating Sevilla for six in the 2022 edition, which marked their third victory from the last four iterations of the friendly tournament, Arsenal seeks a seventh Emirates Cup title before Champions League and Premier League duties take center stage. The one exception was a 2019 loss to Lyon under Unai Emery.
Pre-Season
This weekend, Arsenal will also have the chance to win another trophy as Arteta’s team will compete against Manchester City. The Community Shield title before another drawn-out battle with Pep Guardiola’s team for the title. After a difficult season under Philippe Clement’s leadership, Monaco will not participate in the Champions League or any other European competitions in the upcoming season. Clement has since given the team’s management to former Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt manager Adi Hutter.
Following consecutive third-place finishes in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, Monaco’s poor defensive play in the 2022–23 campaign cost them dearly as they labored to a sixth-place finish, scoring 70 goals but conceding 58 on the opposite end of the field. The Monaco board fired Clement following a dismal run of late-season play. It saw Monaco win just one of their final seven games and drop each of their final three. Hutter, Clement’s replacement, has had a mixed preseason.
Along with three straight victories over Real Betis, Leeds United, and Bologna, Monaco has also shared the win with Union Saint-Gilloise. However, the team has also lost to Cercle Brugge and Genoa, the latter of which it did on Saturday. Monaco eliminated the Gunners on away goals in the last 16 of the 2014–15 Champions League after a 3–3 aggregate draw. Despite finishing one spot below Arsenal in the Emirates Cup that season thanks to a Radamel Falcao goal.
Team News
Prior to the start of the new season, Arsenal’s injury woes were already evident as all of Rice (knee), Folarin Balogun (foot), and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) missed the victory over Barcelona. Other notable absences Reiss Nelson (toe) and Albert Sambi Lokonga (muscle). Balogun and Zinchenko aren’t anticipated to be out for long due to contact injuries. Arteta might be cautious with the latter considering his history of calf issues. Record-signing Rice might force his way back into the mix as well.
There are rumors that Kieran Tierney may now stay in Arsenal colors next season. Aaron Ramsdale still wears the number one jersey despite rumors of a possible swoop for Brentford’s David Raya.
The center-back is reportedly close to a £38.5 million transfer to Chelsea. He has likely played his last match for Les Monegasques. Breel Embolo missed much of last season with a knee injury, is also expected to remain out. Monaco striker Wissam Ben Yedder will lead the charge against Arsenal that was once projected to land him. Philipp Kohn, Monaco’s lone summer addition, will serve as the final line of defense for the visitors.
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