Borussia Dortmund have confirmed a pre-season trip to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, 9 August at 3.00pm CEST, 2pm local time. The game is one of five warm-up matches before their first competitive outing of the summer, the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against Bayern München on Saturday 22 August.
Dortmund's five-game build-up
The full schedule gives a clear picture of how [Niko Kovač] will use the summer. Dortmund open with Rot-Weiß Oberhausen on 18 July, then play Cerezo Osaka on 29 July and FC Tokyo on 1 August before the visit to Arsenal. Arsenal are followed by Roma on 15 August, which leaves just over a week before the Supercup.
Arsenal are also a familiar opponent. The clubs have met eight times, with Arsenal winning four and Dortmund three, so this is not some random summer booking. The last confirmed meeting was Arsenal 2-0 Borussia Dortmund on 26 November 2014 in the Champions League group stage, which tells you how long the gap has been between fixtures.
Jobe Bellingham's return to England
The other obvious hook is Jobe Bellingham, who will be returning to his homeland for the friendly. That gives the trip a little more texture than a standard pre-season stop, especially with Dortmund already locked into a London date against a Premier League side.
There is also a straightforward football point here. Dortmund are not treating this as their main event, because the real target is the Bayern München match on 22 August. Even so, an August evening at the Emirates is a serious test, and the club have chosen a fixture that will tell them something before the season starts.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →