Arsenal summer plans confirmed as three former Gunners set for sensational north London return
Arsenal will reunite with Granit Xhaka and two more former Gunners in two pre-season friendlies at the Emirates Stadium in August
Arsenal are set to face Lyon in this season’s Emirates Cup on Sunday 11 August. Arsenal will also play Bayer Leverkusen in a separate friendly several days before on Wednesday 7 August.
A traditional yearly friendly for the Emirates Stadium, it returns for just one day in an official capacity.
Arsenal have taken on two sides in the past across a single weekend without the gap in between but being so close to the start of the season, the decision to play a second friendly which is not officially part of the Emirates Cup a few days before allows for more recovery time between games.
The interesting choice of both opponents is their links with the Gunners. Leverkusen, newly-crowned Bundesliga champions and Invincibles, achieved their success with the help of former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, who will return to north London to play for the first time since his summer 2023 departure.
