Match preview: Arsenal vs AC Milan: Gunners kick-off pre-season with tough test

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Arsenal begin their pre-season preparations with a high-profile clash with European heavy-weights AC Milan in Singapore on Wednesday afternoon [UK time].

It was another frustration campaign of what might have been for the Gunners last season. Off the back of two seasons finishing second to Manchester City, 2024/25 was billed as the year the title would finally return to the red half of North London. However, Mikel Arteta’s men once again had to settle for the silver medal as Liverpool were the surprise winners – running away with the Premier League title race in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.

Injuries and some harsh red cards certainly didn’t help their cause, but Arsenal’s level dropped last season and they never really looked like they would pose a genuine threat to Liverpool. Getting over the line to win the title is the main focus for Arteta this coming campaign or the pressure is going to ramp up from frustrated fans with Arsenal tickets.

Many disgruntled supporters point to a lack of clinical edge up front and a lack of squad depth as the reasons why Arsenal have failed to win a title in the last three years. It’s certainly a valid argument and it appears the club are taking the necessary steps to address those issues this summer.

New arrivals

Arsenal have already strengthened their ranks with four new arrivals. Kepa Arrizabalaga has arrived from Chelsea to offer competition to David Raya while Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi come in to the midfield following the departures of Jorginho and Thomas Partey. Noni Madueke is another big money addition to give Arteta more options on the wings – although the fact he’s joined from Chelsea has caused a stir among some sections of the Arsenal fan-base.

Christian Mosquera is also set to arrive from Valencia to strengthen the defence but the wait for a new No.9 goes on. Arsenal have reportedly agreed a deal in principal with Sporting Lisbon for Viktor Gyokeres but the structure of the add-ons is still being ironed out. Arteta wanted Gyokeres on the flight for the pre-season tour of Asia but the two clubs are yet to finalise terms.

It means no new striker will be available to Arteta for their tour opener against AC Milan – which kicks off at 12.30pm UK time at the National Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday afternoon. With further games against Newcastle United and Tottenham to come, the tour will be a real test for the Gunners ahead of the new campaign.

Arsenal have already played one low key pre-season friendly, beating Watford 2-0 in a behind closed doors game over the weekend. Ben White and Kai Havertz were on target for the Gunners but much tougher tests lie ahead in Asia.

Fresh start for Milan

AC Milan head into the new season with Max Allegri at the helm for a second stint in charge. The Italian guided Milan to the Serie A title during his first spell in charge between 2010 and 2014 but he’s been given another chance at glory having replaced Sergio Conceicao as manager this summer.

Conceicao did manage to win the Supercoppa Italiana but they finished eighth in Serie A, lost the Coppa Italia final to Balogna and were dumped out of the Champions League by Feyenoord so the bosses decided it was time for a change.

After taking on Arsenal tomorrow, Milan will play further friendlies against Premier League giants Liverpool, Leeds and Chelsea during their pre-season preparations.

How to watch

Fans can buy a pre-season pass to watch all of Arsenal’s pre-season games via their official website.

Alternatively, fans in Asia can buy Arsenal and AC Milan tickets to watch the game live at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Team News

Arsenal fans could see three new faces in this game with Kepa, Norgaard and Zubimendi all available to feature. However, Madueke will have to wait longer to make his non-competitive debut as he’s still on holiday following his exploits for Chelsea at this summers Club World Cup.

Gabriel Magalhaes has been working hard in training after making a swift return from a hamstring injury that ended his season prematurely last campaign. However, it remains to be seen whether he’s ready to start or play any part of this fixture. Riccardo Calafiori is in-line to start alongside William Saliba in the middle of defence after returning to full fitness.

Gabriel Jesus gave Arsenal fans a nice surprise after confirming he’s been doing ball work back on the training pitch. The Brazilian was initially expected to be out until the end of 2025 after rupturing his ACL in his knee back in January. However, Jesus is already back in light training so should be available sooner than expected – although he’ll play no part against Milan tomorrow.

For Milan, new signing Luka Modric isn’t available yet following his participation in the Club World Cup with Real Madrid. Santiago Gimenez is absent so Noah Okafor could start up front while new signing Samuele Ricci could also feature.

Tijjani Reijnders has left to join Manchester City while Theo Hernandez has joined Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Possible line-up

Raya is expected to start in goal with Kepa getting some minutes off the bench. White could start at right-back ahead of Jurrien Timber while Myles Lewis-Skelly is likely to join Saliba and Calafiori in defence.

Zubimendi is set to start in the holding role for Arsenal following his arrival from Real Sociedad. Declan Rice will also start in midfield with Martin Odegaard captaining the Gunners once again.

Havertz is likely to lead the line up front with no new striker signed just yet. Bukayo Saka should start on the right wing with Gabriel Martinelli expected to get the nod on the left ahead of Leandro Trossard.

Fifteen year old Max Dowman will be part of the senior squad this season and we could see the teenager play some part against Milan off the bench.

Possible XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Predicted score

This game should be a tough test for Arsenal and give Arteta a solid idea of where the squad is right now. The players have only been training for a couple of weeks so we should see plenty of changes as the boss looks to give valuable minutes to his entire squad.

Max Allegri is an excellent tactician and it will be interesting to see how he sets Milan up tomorrow afternoon. They’ve lost two key players in Reijnders and Hernandez but they still have plenty of quality available to choose from.

We’re not expecting a blood and thunder clash – especially this early in pre-season – and the main focus for Arteta will be improving fitness and testing out some new tactics, but it will still be nice to get a win under their belt.

We’re predicting a narrow Arsenal win with Saka on target. Arsenal 2-1 AC Milan

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