Pre-season is now well underway for every club, and with no major international tournament it will be a chance for most players to gear up for the new season in the best way possible.

Arsenal have a busy schedule, as they begin their pre-season with a tour of Australia, where they play two games, before playing Bayern Munich and Chelsea in China. Those matches are then followed by the Emirates Cup, where Arsene Wenger's men will take on Benfica and Sevilla.

These games will of course give Arsenal fans their first sight of Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac after their arrivals from Lyon and Schalke.

Tour of Australia

In previous years Arsenal have enjoyed tours in America and Asia, as Wenger looks to use games overseas to get his team prepared for the new season. This time however will be the club's first visit to Australia for 40 years, as the Gunners head to Sydney for two games at the ANZ Stadium.

Arsenal kick off their pre-season on Thursday, as they take on Sydney FC, before a match against the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday. Sydney FC are the current A-League Champions, and lost just one game in the league last season.

They enjoyed a hugely successful 2016/17 season, also winning the A-League Grand Final on penalties against Melbourne Victory.

As for the Western Sydney Wanderers, they finished last season's league campaign in sixth position after being runners-up in the Grand Final the season before.

Tough encounters in China

As part of Arsenal's two week tour they will also travel to China for two games against much stronger opposition. On Wednesday 19th July the Gunners will face Bayern Munich, a fixture which hasn't been too kind in recent times.

The Gunners of course suffered two extremely embarrassing results against Bayern in last season's Champions League, but the score-line should be more respectable in this pre-season encounter.

Next up will be Chelsea on the 22nd July, as the two London clubs meet just weeks before the Community Shield at Wembley. The last time they met was the FA Cup final, where Arsenal were victorious thanks to goals from Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey. Sanchez however won't be in the side this time, as he recovers from his Confederations Cup exploits with Chile.

Emirates Cup

The Emirates Cup is back this year, after the European Championships in 2016 meant a shorter pre-season for Arsenal. The Gunners won it back in 2015 for a fourth time, and this time will welcome Benfica, Sevilla and Red Bull Leipzig to the Emirates on the 29th and 30th July.

The Saturday will see Arsenal take on Benfica, after Sevilla have faced RB Leipzig. Wenger's men will then face Sevilla on the Sunday.

This will likely be the first weekend that Arsenal fans get to see their new signings in action on home soil, as the North London side round off their pre-season preparations before the Community Shield a week later.

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About the author
Matt Dawson
Sports journalist at the University of Huddersfield. Cover Arsenal and the WSL.