2 Attachment(s)
Arsenal 2019 pre-season: Friendlies, transfers, rumours & Premier League fixtures
Unai Emery will continue his rebuilding job in north London in 2019-20 and business gets started again in July
Having missed out on a top-four finish in the past three seasons, Arsenal will be aiming to break the habit in 2019-20 and maybe even mount a challenge for Premier League glory.
Unai Emery's side finished a disappointing fifth in 2018-19, one point behind bitter rivals Tottenham, but their season was salvaged somewhat as they managed to reach the Europa League final.
Some changes are expected during the transfer window, but stars such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette will be expected to build on their goal-scoring form in the new season.
Editors' Picks
From €100m Ronaldo to €75m De Ligt – Juventus are the new Galacticos
New season, same City! Silva and Sterling lead Pep's men to big win in China
No Lukaku, no problem! Rashford & Greenwood show Man Utd have no shortage of No.9s
How Real Madrid could make €300m this summer just on backup players
Ahead of the upcoming campaign, Goal takes a look at the Gunners' pre-season friendly schedule, the club's transfer activity and when their Premier League push begins again.
Arsenal pre-season fixtures
Date Match Time (UK / US ET) Venue
Jul 16 Colorado Rapids 0-3 Arsenal 1am / 8pm Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City CO
Jul 18 Arsenal 2-1 Bayern Munich 4am / 11pm Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson CA
Jul 20 Fiorentina* 11pm / 6pm Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte NC
Jul 24 Real Madrid* 12am / 7pm FedEx Field, Landover MD
Jul 28 Lyon 3:15pm / 10:15am Emirates Stadium, London
Aug 4 Barcelona 7pm / 2pm Camp Nou, Barcelona
*Part of the 2019 International Champions Cup
A tour of the United States is in store for Arsenal this summer for their pre-season preparations, as they take part in the 2019 International Champions Cup (ICC) for the third year in a row.
The tour kicked off in Colorado with a game against Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Colorado Rapids and the Gunners then made their way to California to get their ICC commitments under way against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich .
After that, they head east to take on Serie A outfit Fiorentina in North Carolina in their second game of the friendly competition.
Their final match in the ICC is against Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid in Maryland.
The north London side continue their season warm-up matches at home with a game against Ligue 1 team Lyon , before concluding matters against Barcelona on August 4.
Arsenal 2019-20 transfer activity
Arsenal's transfer business this summer has been confined mainly to outgoings, but Emery has indicated that the club have their eye on four expensive players .
They will, of course, be without the services of Aaron Ramsey, who joined Juventus on a free transfer, Petr Cech has signalled his intention to retire and Danny Welbeck left following the expiry of his contract.
Goal understands that Saint-Etienne centre-back William Saliba is their number one target, with Emery keen to strengthen his defence ahead of the new campaign, while Brazilian teen Gabriel Martinelli is set to join in June.
The Gunners have also been linked with Lille sensation Nicolas Pepe, Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco and Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney among others.
Article continues below
Transfer activity in
Position Player Transferred from Fee Date
FW Gabriel Martinelli Ituano £6m Jun 18
Transfer activity out
Position Player Transferred to Fee Date
DF Julio Pleguezuelo Twente Free May 21
GK Petr Cech Retired - Jul 1
MF Aaron Ramsey Juventus Free Jul 1
FW Danny Welbeck Released - Jul 1
DF Stephan Lichtsteiner Released - Jul 1
GK David Ospina Napoli £5m Jul 4
Arsenal 2019-20 Premier League fixtures
Arsenal get their new Premier League season started on August 11 with an away trip to Newcastle United.
Their opening five games are tough, with games against Burnley, Liverpool, Tottenham and Watford to follow the Magpies clash.
You can see the full Arsenal fixture list by here .
