Arsenal Preseason Match Against Como: Building Momentum Before Community Shield
Arsenal step up through the gears on Wednesday, and they do it against a club with a familiar heartbeat.
With the Community Shield against Manchester City looming in Cardiff on Sunday, this meeting with Como at the Emirates is no gentle run-out. It’s the moment Mikel Arteta starts stitching his champions back together.
Arsenal move out of second gear
Preseason has been a blur of absentees and makeshift lineups. Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday underlined it: too many gaps in midfield, too many questions in defense, not enough rhythm.
That changes this week.
The $101 million signing of Bruno Guimaraes is the headline act. He is expected to feature in some capacity against Como, and his arrival feels like a jolt of electricity through the spine of this squad. A statement signing, right in the area of the pitch where Arsenal have looked light in preseason.
Around him, the cavalry is finally returning. Declan Rice, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, David Raya and Martin Zubimendi are all due back in training over the coming days. Captain Martin Odegaard has only just rejoined the group as well, giving Arteta the creative fulcrum he has missed.
No manager enjoys preseason defeats, but Arteta will not be losing sleep over the losses to Real Betis and Dortmund. They exposed defensive frailties, yes, but they also arrived with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber injured and already ruled out of the start of the season. Context matters.
What will please him is the emergence of Christos Tzolis. The new signing on the left wing has looked sharp, direct and dangerous, the kind of player who forces defenders to backpedal. Combine that with Guimaraes stepping into midfield, and Arsenal suddenly look a lot less like a patched-up summer side and a lot more like reigning Premier League champions ready to reassert themselves.
This Como game, then, is less about the scoreline and more about acceleration. Minutes in legs. Combinations rebuilt. A first glimpse of how Guimaraes might dovetail with Rice, Odegaard and the rest once the season starts to bite.
Fabregas returns with a rising force
Across the technical area stands a man who knows the Emirates better than most.
Cesc Fabregas has turned Como into one of the most intriguing stories in European football. Last season, under his guidance, they finished fourth in Serie A and booked a first-ever place in the UEFA Champions League. That alone would have been remarkable for a club of Como’s size; the manner in which they did it made people sit up.
They conceded fewer goals than anyone in Italy’s top flight last season, a side built on defensive discipline without sacrificing ambition. Fabregas has assembled a group that is hard to break down and easy on the eye, a balance that many more established clubs struggle to find.
The squad has real pedigree. Trevoh Chalobah has just arrived from Chelsea to strengthen an already miserly back line. Up front, Alvaro Morata leads the attack, offering the kind of movement and experience that stretches even elite defenses. Nico Paz adds craft and incision in the final third, a key figure in their attacking patterns.
Fabregas has been building this project patiently over the last few years. Now Como are no longer just a feel-good story from Lake Como; they are a team that can go toe-to-toe with the elite in Italy and, soon, in Europe.
For him, this trip to the Emirates is more than a sentimental return. It’s a measuring stick. How does his emerging Champions League side cope against the Premier League title holders, even in preseason? How do his defensive structures handle the speed and variety of Arsenal’s attack once the big names start filtering back in?
What’s at stake on Wednesday
Kickoff is set for 2:30pm ET on Wednesday, August 12, at the Emirates Stadium, with the game available on Arsenal’s YouTube channel. On paper, it’s a preseason friendly. On the pitch, it carries a little more weight.
For Arsenal, it’s about sharpening the champions’ edge before Manchester City await in Cardiff. For Como, it’s a chance to show that last season’s surge under Fabregas was no one-off.
Two clubs at very different stages of their journey, sharing one thing on Wednesday: a clear sense that the real season is coming fast, and there is no time left to hide.
