Milan’s first international friendly match after the now traditional friendly match against Milan Futuro, which the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri since this year won 3-0 thanks to goals from Bartesaghi, Liberali, and Gabbia. The Rossoneri flew to Singapore in recent days, the first stop on their Asian tour, where they will face Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
For Milan, it is a sort of year zero after last season’s disappointing eighth place finish, which neither Fonseca nor Conceiçao – the two coaches who took turns on the bench – were able to turn around. With the exception of their triumph in the Italian Super Cup Final Four, the Diavolo have failed on all fronts, including the Coppa Italia (defeated in the final against Bologna).
The owners have therefore decided to entrust the team to an experienced and successful coach such as Massimiliano Allegri, who had already coached Milan from 2010 to 2014, helping to win a Scudetto. The sporting director is also new, Igli Tare, who is back on track after his experience at Lazio: after the first departures – Theo Hernandez and Reijnders – the Rossoneri management has focused mainly on midfield with the arrivals of Ricci from Torino and, above all, Luka Modric, who, at the age of 40, said goodbye to Real Madrid, choosing to put his experience at the service of the Rossoneri club. However, the Croatian will not be available to Allegri in the friendly against Arsenal, as he was involved in the Club World Cup with Los Blancos until late June.
Gunners still looking for a striker
Arsenal are also very active in the transfer market after once again coming away empty-handed last season. The Gunners, who finished second in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, are looking for a big-name striker and their dream target remains Viktor Gyokeres, who is now at odds with Sporting.
The London club has already signed Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, Norgaard from Brentford, Kepa and Madueke from Chelsea. In their only friendly match so far, played behind closed doors, Mikel Arteta’s men beat Watford 2-0 (goals from White and Havertz).
Odds comparison
Arsenal’s victory is priced at 1.70 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and 1.80 on Snai. The “Multigol 1-3” bet is priced at 1.45 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and 1.53 on Snai.
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Prediction
The pace is likely to be very slow, partly due to the weather: the Gunners are favorites against a Milan side that is still incomplete, but it is risky to predict the result in games like this. Allegri will certainly demand immediate improvements in the team’s possession, which is why we do not expect a big win for Arsenal.
Probable line-ups for Arsenal-Milan
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
MILAN (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Thiaw, Pavlovic; Bartesaghi; Saelemaekers, Ricci, Loftus-Cheek, Musah, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao.