Arsenal vs Como: Guimaraes' Emirates Debut as Arteta Seeks Response
Pre-season friendlies at the Emirates usually arrive with a soft edge. Not this one. After back-to-back defeats and with a title defence on the horizon, Arsenal’s meeting with Como on Wednesday night carries a sharper tone than your typical August warm-up.
This is the last home rehearsal before the serious business starts. It is also the first real glimpse of Bruno Guimaraes in red and white.
A response demanded
Arsenal’s summer rhythm has been disrupted. A 3-1 defeat to Real Betis was followed by a 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund, results that don’t alter league tables but do chip away at confidence and control. Supporters turning up – or tuning in – at 7.30pm BST will want more than fitness updates and tactical experiments. They will want a reaction.
Mikel Arteta will expect the same. These are the fixtures where he usually sharpens patterns, tests combinations and lays down standards. Two defeats on the spin, even in pre-season, test those standards. Como, guided by former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and fresh from a fourth-place finish in Serie A that sealed Champions League qualification, are no soft touch.
The visitors arrive with ambition, structure and a coach who knows every inch of this stadium and what it demands.
Guimaraes steps into the spotlight
The headline, though, belongs to Bruno Guimaraes. The £75 million signing from Newcastle has already felt the Emirates roar, paraded in front of the home support before the Dortmund game, but this is different. This is the first chance to see how he moves inside Arteta’s system, how he connects with the ball, with his teammates, with the tempo of a side that expects to dominate.
Arteta has not hidden his excitement. He talked about the “energy” Guimaraes has brought to the training ground, the “hunger” and “desire” to write a big chapter in the club’s history. Those are big words. Now comes the first step in backing them up on the pitch.
The Brazilian is expected to feature, though he may not start as the staff manage his workload carefully after the move and his international exertions. Even a 30-minute cameo would be enough to light up an August evening and offer a hint of how Arsenal’s midfield might evolve.
Thin squad, thick expectations
Arteta’s options remain patchy. Several senior players are still missing or building back towards full involvement. Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino have yet to fully rejoin the group. Jurrien Timber is still nursing a groin problem. William Saliba, so central to Arsenal’s defensive structure, is out for the longer term with a back injury.
That reality has forced rotation throughout pre-season, with younger faces and fringe players asked to carry more minutes than they might once the competitive fixtures arrive. One of those, Christos Tzolis, seized his chance against Dortmund and is expected to feature again, his sharp movement and direct running a rare bright spot in that defeat.
The absences offer opportunity but also risk. With Manchester City looming in the Community Shield on 16 August and a Premier League opener against Coventry City to follow, Arsenal must find defensive stability quickly. Supporters will watch closely for signs that the soft goals conceded in recent outings are being addressed.
Fabregas returns with intent
On the opposite bench stands a familiar figure. Fabregas, once the heartbeat of Arsenal’s midfield, returns as head coach of a Como side quietly building something serious. Their fourth-place finish in Serie A last season was no fluke, and the club has underlined its ambition by signing former Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah on a five-year deal.
Fabregas has already called Chalobah’s arrival an important statement. It fits the wider story: Como are not in London for a sightseeing tour. They are here to test themselves against a Premier League champion in its own home, to stretch an Arsenal side still short of rhythm and personnel.
For Fabregas, it is also a personal marker – a chance to walk back into the Emirates not as a former hero but as a coach with his own project, his own ideas, his own growing reputation.
Final dress rehearsal
There is a practical edge to the evening too. The match will be streamed free on Arsenal’s YouTube channel for fans in the UK, USA, India and Australia, a reminder of how these games now serve a global audience as much as the 60,000 inside the ground. For many, this will be their first extended look at the evolving squad, at new signings and tactical tweaks.
Arteta will want to leave them with a different feeling to the last two outings: tighter at the back, cleaner in possession, sharper in both boxes. Pre-season is about conditioning, yes, but momentum matters. Confidence matters. A team defending a Premier League title cannot afford to drift into the campaign still searching for itself.
So this is more than a gentle Emirates run-out. It is a line in the sand before Manchester City, before Coventry, before the grind of a season in which every dropped point will be scrutinised.
Arsenal know what they want this year. On Wednesday night, against Fabregas’ ambitious Como, we start to see whether they still look like a team ready to go and take it.
