[4-3-3]: Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres starts- Arsenal’s predicted lineups vs Villarreal looks so dangerous as Mikel Arteta is set to start all new signings against Villarreal
Champions League semi-final foes of yesteryear, Arsenal and Villarreal collide in a pre-season friendly at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Gunners have some mistakes to rectify from their recent North London derby defeat, while the Yellow Submarine have not picked up a single victory from six warm-up games so far.
Match preview
The highs of signing Viktor Gyokeres were replaced by the lows of a North London derby defeat for Arsenal in Hong Kong, where the Gunners’ creative concerns reared their ugly heads once more in a 1-0 loss to Thomas Frank’s troops.
In the first-ever North London derby to be fought outside of the UK, an outrageous long-range effort from Pape Sarr made the difference, as the Senegalese midfielder channelled his inner David Beckham to score from close to the halfway line.
Had that strike flown in during a Premier League match, the VAR would have taken a closer look at an apparent foul from Richarlison on Myles Lewis-Skelly in the build-up to the goal, but Arsenal could have little complaints at full time after failing to fashion many clear-cut chances; a familiar tale from 2024-25.
Having slain Watford, Newcastle United and AC Milan before reuniting with their bitter rivals, Arsenal’s 100% pre-season record came to an end in Hong Kong, and the less said about their end-of-season Emirates feats the better.
Indeed, Arteta’s men only won one of their last five home games in the 2024-25 campaign, although they could soon lift silverware at the stadium again; Wednesday’s visit of Villarreal precedes the latest edition of the Emirates Cup against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
As Arsenal re-acclimatise to life back on British shores, Villarreal are midway through a three-game tour of the UK, which commenced with a 1-1 draw against Premier League returnees Leeds United on August 2.
An Etta Eyong opener was cancelled out by a Joel Piroe leveller just five minutes later, as the Yellow Submarine’s winless run in pre-season stretched to a miserable six matches, four of which have ended in a share of the spoils.
Marcelino’s men have also played out stalemates with Basel, Real Oviedo and St. Gallen, while succumbing to successive defeats against Sporting Lisbon and Genoa, hardly ideal preparation for a return to the Champions League table for 2025-26.
The visitors’ fifth-placed finish in the 2024-25 La Liga campaign guaranteed their entry to Europe’s top competition, where Arsenal could very well await in the league phase, and Villarreal possess fond memories from their most recent competitive contests with the Gunners.
En route to winning the 2020-21 Europa League, Unai Emery’s Villarreal overcame Arsenal in the semi-finals, although the North London giants prevailed at the same stage in the 2005-06 UCL and in the quarter-finals of the 2008-09 competition.
Five of Arsenal’s six new recruits this summer made their non-competitive debuts in Asia, and the Emirates crowd will now get their first glimpse of Gyokeres, Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard in person.
Noni Madueke was left at home following his arrival due to his Club World Cup exploits with Chelsea, but the England international may now be deemed ready for his first minutes in red and white, especially as Leandro Trossard pulled up injured against Spurs.
The Belgian joins defensive trio Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber on the Gunners’ infirm list, while Gabriel Jesus is still months away from coming back from an ACL issue too.
Jesus can empathise with one Villarreal man in that regard, as defender Logan Costa sustained a devastating cruciate ligament rupture in his side’s friendly with Basel and faces many months on the sidelines.
However, Marcelino’s squad is in good shape otherwise, and two former Arsenal flops are primed to reunite with their old employers on Wednesday; Nicolas Pepe and Denis Suarez are both on the Yellow Submarine’s books.
The visitors are also understood to be on the brink of signing free agent Thomas Partey, but the Ghana international will certainly not feature on Wednesday, which comes the day after his magistrates’ court hearing for charges of rape and sexual assault.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Mosquera, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Junior; Foyth, Mourino, Marin, Cardona; Pepe, Gueye, Parejo, Pino; Eyong, Moreno
