With the World Cup done and dusted for another four years the focus returns to club football, and this weekend Arsenal will travel to Boreham Wood for what is our first of four pre-season friendlies. All the players that didn’t participate in the World Cup are expected to travel, along with some of the U.21 squad.
Arsene Wenger confirmed today that he will field two completely different outfits either side of half-time, combining experience with youth in what will be an experimental team. The likes of Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Nacho Monreal, Mathieu Flamini, Yaya Sanogo, Abou Diaby and Carl Jenkinson could all feature alongside some of the U.21 squad in what should be a competitive and useful workout for the Arsenal side.
Traditionally Arsenal have always played a friendly close to home, normally against Barnet which has often proved to be a tougher test than many would expect. Boreham Wood should hopefully provide the Gunners with another intense battle, one that they should be very much up for. I expect that Wenger will split his first-team players evenly with the under 21.s either side of half-time, combining an experienced core with a mix of youthful talent. You’d expect that the Conference South outfit will be quite physical and it should be an interesting battle, especially for some of the less experienced pro’s.
The game will of course come too early for Arsenal’s World Cup participants (the majority of whom return to training next Monday), but the side Wenger puts out will still be one of good quality and it’ll be intriguing to see how fresh and raring to go some of the player are. Many of the under 21.s will feel they need to prove themselves this Summer, with the likes of Ignasi Miquel and Francis Coquelin looking to secure a more permanent role in the squad.
This fixture should be a nice way to start off pre-season and of course a win is expected, but getting fitness in is the most important thing at this stage. After this fixture there will be three more friendlies to play, and hopefully the Gunners will gradually ease their way into the new season, starting with a confident performance at Meadow Park on Saturday.