In the words of the immortal Tupac Shakur: “Inglewood, Inglewood always up to no good.” Yes, Arsenal meets FC Barcelona on Wednesday night in Inglewood for L.A. story that is already filled with Hollywood level drama.
And kick-off is still well over 48 hours away. At this point, we’re just lucky that this match will still even go on. Apparently, the Barcelona squad has sufficiently recovered from the gastroenteritis outbreak that saw their first friendly in the United States this summer get cancelled.
Club Friendly FYIs
Arsenal vs FC Barcelona
Kickoff: Wed. July 26, 7:30 PST. SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Arsenal Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Watch: ESPN+
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Of course, we still don’t know who is sick, who was sick and who is recovering, so when creating a first team prediction for the Blaugranes, it’s really a total crapshoot. What follows is most likely to be totally wrong. As for Arsenal, they are going from New York to Los Angeles, and that is fitting, given what the rest of the world stereotypically thinks of us, here in America.
When traveling abroad and people ask me where I’m from, I ask them to guess. They usually say New York and/or L.A. because those are the two American cities that everyone has heard of.
I’m actually from somewhere in “flyover country,” which is something that is exactly what it sounds like.
And the route that the Gunners took to get here, as they just did the great cross-country, northeast to southwest flight. Maybe the North London club will fare better in Hollywood than they did in Gotham (a 2-0 loss to Manchester United)
Starting XI Predictions (Club Friendly)
Arsenal
Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, Timber, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Rice; Trossard, Saka, Martinelli; Nketiah
FC Barcelona
Ter Stegen; R. Araujo, Martinez, Christensen, Alonso; Gundogan, Romeu, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.