Athletic to take on Arsenal FC in pre-season test at Emirates Stadium

Athletic to take on Arsenal FC in pre-season test at Emirates Stadium

The Gunners will be our third Champions League-qualified opponents of the pre-season, with the match taking place in London on Saturday 9 August, at 5pm (UK time)

Athletic Club will face Arsenal FC at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 9 August at 5pm (UK time), in what will be the Lions' final friendly match before the start of the 2025/26 LaLiga season.

Following confirmed fixtures against Deportivo Alavés, PSV and two matches against Liverpool FC, Ernesto Valverde's side will end their pre-season campaign in London against another Champions League team.

Information regarding purchasing tickets for the friendly will be announced shortly.
 

Premier League runners-up and Champions League semi-finalists
 

Last season, Arsenal, led by San Sebastian native Mikel Arteta, finished second in the Premier League behind Liverpool FC, with 74 points, three more than third-placed Manchester City.

The Gunners also reached Champions League semi-finals, knocking Real Madrid out in the quarter-finals with a resounding 5-1 aggregate scoreline. PSG, who went on to win the tournament, eliminated the Londoners in the semi-finals.

Arsenal have stars in every position on the pitch. David Raya stands out in goal, while the Londoners have recently signed former Athletic shotstopper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

At the back, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães form a solid partnership at the heart of their defence.

Declan Rice is the midfield engine while Martin Odegaard provides the spark that helps the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz score the goals.

An injury crisis last season also saw Mikel Merino moved further forward, even though the former Real Sociedad player, a former teammate of Odegaard in Donosti too, was initially signed to play alongside Rice in midfield.

This will be the first time in history that the two clubs' men's team have faced each other. To date, they have never met in official competition or a friendly.

However, Athletic Club Women and Arsenal Women have played each other twice before. They first met in a Women's Champions League fixture in Stockholm in 2004, which finished 2-2. In 2013, the Gunners visited Bilbao for a friendly which Athletic won 1-0.