Arsenal Face Borussia Dortmund: Everything You Need to Know Before the Big Clash

Arsenal will enjoy the backing of their home crowd as they face Borussia Dortmund in a preseason friendly at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta admitted his squad were "fuming" after a deserved 3–1 loss to Real Betis on Wednesday, a surprising stumble following their commanding 4–1 win over Girona in their opening summer friendly abroad. The Spaniard will be looking for a strong reaction, even with only bragging rights at stake against BVB.

The Gunners are still missing a number of key first-team players recovering from demanding World Cup campaigns, though Arteta still has plenty of talent to draw from at home in north London.

Dortmund, meanwhile, have just wrapped up their Japan tour, where they fell 1–0 to Cerezo Osaka before bouncing back with a 1–0 win over FC Tokyo. This will mark their fifth preseason outing of the summer, yet they have yet to face a side as formidable as Arsenal.

Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund Score Prediction

Arsenal Deliver on Homecoming

Arsenal were uncharacteristically sloppy against Betis in their last outing, falling short of the intensity Arteta expects from his squad both on and off the ball. A patched-up side fell apart in the opening half, with worrying gaps in midfield and at the back — not to mention some shaky goalkeeping from Kepa Arrizabalaga.

However, playing in front of their home faithful for the first time since clinching last season's Premier League title, Arsenal should produce a convincing reply to that Betis setback.

Dortmund have been erratic in preseason and tend to be vulnerable defensively, with Arsenal well-placed to exploit any rustiness in the German side. They are also missing several notable names, including a number of players who have recently departed in the transfer window.

Preseason results are always difficult to forecast, particularly with squad rotations throughout the match, but Arsenal are rightly considered favorites, possessing considerably more individual quality across their squad than Dortmund.

Prediction: Arsenal 3–1 Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal will continue to be without injured pair William Saliba and Jurriën Timber, while young midfielder Louie Copley looks set to miss out after picking up a concerning knee injury against Betis.

Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, David Raya, Mikel Merino and Martín Zubimendi are all still unavailable following extended rest periods after the World Cup, though captain Martin Ødegaard could make his first appearance of the summer.

Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli both made their returns with brief substitute appearances against Betis and are expected to play a more prominent role this weekend.

Following Kepa's error-filled display in Dublin, Arteta may be inclined to give summer signing Illan Meslier a chance in goal.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Borussia Dortmund (4-3-3): Meslier; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Havertz; Dowman, Gyökeres, Tzolis.

Borussia Dortmund Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal

Dortmund are dealing with several long-term injury absentees, with centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck a notable miss after sustaining an ankle problem while representing Germany at the World Cup. Emre Can is also sidelined after tearing his ACL in late February.

Waldemar Anton, Maximilian Beier, Felix Nmecha, Daniel Svensson and Carney Chukwuemeka all featured in the Tokyo match after busy World Cup summers, while Gregor Kobel, Marcel Sabitzer and Julian Ryerson sat out as they continued their post-tournament breaks.

BVB could hand a debut to new arrival Konstantinos Karetsas, the young Greek forward who recently joined for $36.9 million from Genk.

Borussia Dortmund predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Drewes; Reggiani, Anton, Gadou; Svensson, Bellingham, Nmecha, Beier; Silva, Guirassy, Inácio.

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