Arsenal XI vs AC Milan: Zubimendi debut, confirmed team news, predicted lineup, injury latest for friendly

Noni Madueke not on the tour but three other players pushing to make debuts

New face: Martin Zubimendi could be handed a first Arsenal

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Arsenal will begin their pre-season preparations in earnest when they take on AC Milan in a friendly on Wednesday.

The Gunners are facing AC Milan in Singapore at the country’s National Stadium in what is their first game of pre-season.

Arsenal have taken a 30-man squad to Asia for their pre-season tour, with striker Gabriel Jesus the only major injury absentee as he continues to recover from knee surgery earlier this year.

New signing Noni Madueke, who arrived last week from Chelsea for £52million, is also not part of the squad after playing for Chelsea at the Club World Cup earlier this summer.

Mikel Arteta, however, could hand debuts to his other new signings this summer as Christian Norgaard, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi are all in Singapore.

Zubimendi has caught Arteta’s eye in pre-season and could start against AC Milan at the base of Arsenal’s midfield.

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“We are all very impressed with what we’ve seen in the last seven to ten days,” said Arteta.

“Once you have the player daily there and you see his character, his personality, his intelligence, and how much he’s going to bring to the team. I’m very excited about it.”

Centre-backs Gabriel and William Saliba should both feature against AC Milan after Arteta declared on Monday that they are fit.

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The pair missed the end of last season due to hamstring injuries, but they have used the summer to recover.

Arsenal have taken several academy players on tour, including 15-year-olds Marli Salmon and Max Dowman.

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Young goalkeepers Alexei Rojas-Fedorushchenko and Tommy Setford are also in the touring party, along with defender Josh Nichols, midfielder Louie Copley and attackers Ismeal Kabia and Andre Harriman-Annous.

Albert Sambi Lokonga, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Reiss Nelson have all been linked with moves away this summer, but are part of the squad.

Predicted Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Merino; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Time and date: Wednesday July 23, 12.30pm GMT

Venue: National Stadium, Singapore

Injured: Jesus (knee)

AC Milan

Christian Norgaard

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