Arsenal are all set for the opening game of their pre-season, as they travel to Boreham Wood's Meadow Park to face the Conference South side, with a strong set of players expected to make the short journey.
A few of the big names expected to play at least a full half are; Aaron Ramsey, the star of the Gunners' season before injury ruled him out for four months, Wojciech Szczesny, who is now the only first-team goalkeeper in the squad and Abou Diaby, who missed the majority of the previous season through injury. It is of course, as with any pre-season game, for the youngsters to get a chance to play some football. Some of Arsenal's younger players that may play include Hector Bellerin and Chuba Akpom. The former spent part of last season on loan at Championship side Watford, where he thoroughly impressed the fans and coaching staff.
The game is being played at Meadow Park, which also houses Arsenal's reserves and the ladies team. It is the first game for the men's senior team to show off the new Puma away kit, with the ladies team playing out a 4-0 win in the home kit last week.
It could be the beginning of a new era for Arsenal after their FA Cup victory against Hull at the end of last season. They have already tied down their manager Arséne Wenger to a new three-year contract, and recently confirmed the signing of Alexis Sánchez from FC Barcelona for a fee of around £30m. That may not be the end of the transfer dealings, however, with Mathieu Debuchy and Sami Khedira both being heavily linked to the club.
This is the first of four games in Arsenal's pre-season, which sees them travel to New York to face Thierry Henry's New York Red Bulls, before returning to the capital to play the annual Emirates Cup tournament, where Arsenal fans can finally catch a glimpse of their new Chilean winger against either Benfica or AS Monaco. Arsenal fans can expect the majority of their star-spangled side to return for the Emirates Cup, with the World Cup players being given extra time off by Wenger, with the Community Shield against Manchester City being the season-opener for the Gunners, a game which could boost confidence among the players and fans for what promises to be an exciting season for Arsenal.
