Fresh from their tour of Japan, the Blaugrana play their traditional Camp Nou curtain raiser, the Joan Gamper Trophy, before heading off to the United States and two games v Napoli
Aparty atmosphere at the Camp Nou is assured as Barça take on Arsenal in the 54th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy on Sunday (8.00pm CEST).
It’s the first time that the two teams have met in a friendly, having previously faced each other nine times in the Champions League. The balance of results are in Barça’s favour, the Blaugrana having won six, drawn two and lost one.
Third game of pre season
This will be Barça’s third game of pre-season after the 1-2 loss against Chelsea and 2-0 win over Vissel Kobe in the Rakuten Cup, played in Japan. The Gunners are a little further ahead in their preparations and this match will be their seventh of the summer, coming after wins over Colorado Rapids, Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, draws with Real Madrid (lost on pens) and Angers (won on pens), and a loss to Lyon.
New faces for the Gamper
The match also represents the first opportunity for many supporters to see the new faces in action. Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie De Jong and Neto as well as Moussa Wagué will all make their Camp Nou bows.
A new-look Arsenal
The signings of Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba have gone somewhat under the radar, however, the Gunners really shook up the transfer market with their club-record capture of Nicolas Pépé from Lille. He’ll form a devastating front three with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, and will surely be keen to show that he’s worth every penny.
Dani Ceballos has also been secured on loan from Real Madrid, making a swift return to the country where he’d previously plied his trade.
The squad to face the Gunners
Ernesto Valverde has called up all his available first team players for this edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy plus five from the B team squad.
