Arsenal’s pre-season schedule is slowly taking shape, with the club recently announcing a fixture against Segunda Division side Girona in Spain on August 1.
The Gunners dominated the Premier League news narrative last season, leading the table for most of the campaign before clinching their first title in 22 years.
Arsenal are also scheduled to face Spanish side Real Betis at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on August 5, and other games are expected to be added to the schedule in due course.
The fixtures will serve as an aperitif for Arsenal’s biggest test ahead of the 2026/27 season, where they will go head-to-head with Manchester City in the FA Community Shield.
Principality Stadium welcomes Premier League giants back to Cardiff
The annual opener to the English domestic football calendar on August 16 will be staged at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff for the first time in 20 years.
With Wembley Stadium unavailable due to planned concerts, the Football Association (FA) has moved the fixture to the Welsh capital.
The Principality Stadium staged the Community Shield on six occasions between 2001 and 2006, and Arsenal played in four of those fixtures.
They defeated Liverpool (2002) and Manchester United (2004), but also lost to the Red Devils (2003) and Chelsea (2005).
Mark Williams, Principality Stadium manager, said: “It’s been almost a decade since we’ve welcomed a major domestic football fixture of this scale to Principality Stadium, so we’re incredibly excited to see top-level football return to Cardiff this summer.
“The Community Shield is a prestigious event and one that we’re proud to be hosting. Preparations are already well underway across the stadium as we work towards delivering an outstanding occasion for supporters, players and everyone involved.
“We have a hugely experienced team and a proven track record of hosting some of the biggest sporting events in the world.
“There’s a real sense of excitement around welcoming Arsenal and Manchester City to Cardiff, and we’re looking forward to seeing the stadium come alive once again in August.”
Arsenal hoping to make a flying start to their title defence
While Arsenal will hope to make an early statement by winning the Community Shield, their primary focus will be on starting the 2026/27 season with a bang.
The defending champions begin their campaign with a home fixture against newly-promoted Coventry City on August 21, before visiting Aston Villa eight days later.
Chelsea (H) and Sunderland (A) are next on the agenda, while a trip to the south coast to face Brighton & Hove Albion completes their September fixtures.
The opening phase of the Champions League also gets underway during September, and the Gunners will be desperate to make an early impression.
They ended last season by suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the final and will want to make amends this term.
While winning the Premier League eased the pressure on manager Mikel Arteta, he must now prove that he can deliver silverware regularly.
Although Arsenal were the second-highest scorers in the Premier League last term with 71 goals, they were noticeably wasteful towards the end of the campaign.
They only scored more than one goal in two of their final 14 games and must improve that tally next time around.
Pre-season will serve as a useful step along the road to what will hopefully be an even more successful season for the Emirates Stadium outfit.
