Arsenal have just one pre-season friendly remaining before the Premier League season begins, and they are set to take on Olympique Lyonnais in the Emirates Cup.
The Gunners will come up against a familiar face as Hale End product Ainsley Maitland-Niles will return to the Emirates, having joined Lyon on a free transfer last year.
It is the last chance for the Arsenal squad to work on their match fitness before the campaign begins, and the final opportunity for Mikel Arteta to assess his side against top-quality opposition.
Arteta is already facing some team selection dilemmas, with a few players set to miss the game and potentially the start of the season, whilst some late returners from Euro 2024 are lacking match fitness.
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Arsenal injury news ahead of Lyon clash
Jurrien Timber missed the first Emirates Cup clash against Bayer Leverkusen with a load-bearing injury, which is to be expected as Arsenal carefully manage his return to action, and it seems unlikely that he will be ready to return against Lyon.
Riccardo Calafiori could now be available, after Arteta revealed that he wants to ease his new signing in slowly after joining from Bologna in recent weeks.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has missed the entirety of pre-season with an injury he picked up in training, and looks set to continue his absence, as does Kieran Tierney, who has not even been listed in the official squad list.
David Raya, Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka all recently returned having reached the late stages of Euro 2024, and will need to ensure that they are ready for the opening game against Wolves next week.
Predicted Arsenal XI for Lyon Emirates Cup clash
Those who did not start against Leverkusen, and those building up match fitness, are all likely to start, whilst Arteta could end up making 10 substitutions within the game as well, and youngster Ethan Nwaneri will also be hoping for some more minutes.
Eddie Nketiah appears to be closing in on a move to Marseille, and may not feature as a result.
Predicted Arsenal XI vs Lyon: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Zinchenko; Partey, Nwaneri, Rice; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Predicted Arsenal bench vs Lyon: Raya, Setford; Nichols, Heaven, Gabriel, Calafiori; Jorginho, Lewis-Skelly, Vieira, Odegaard, Nelson, Trossard, Havertz.
