LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Per Mertesacker will captain Arsenal in tonight’s Emirates Cup campaign against Napoli, while Jack Wilshere and Lukas Podolski also start the game.
Follow Live Scores Here | Live Audio Commentary
Mertesacker takes over as the captain as both Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta are unavailable at the start.
Vermaelen misses the game with an injured back, while midfielder Arteta is only the bench for the game, but is expected to play some part as the contest goes on.
Arsenal confirmed on the club’s website that manager Arsene Wenger has made five adjustments from the team that started the last pre-season game against Urawa Reds in Saitama last Friday.
Santi Cazorla and summer signing Yaya Sanogo will not be involved in today’s game, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Bacary Sagna and Ignasi Miquel are all on the bench.
For Napoli, Gonzalo Higuaín, who was linked with a move to Arsenal before going to the Serie A side, starts on the bench, but Pepe Reina starts in goal
Arsenal: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Podolski, Gnabry, Giroud.
Subs: Martinez, Sagna, Arteta, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Akpom, Miquel, Zelalem.
Napoli: Reina, Britos, Cannavaro, Mesto, Pablo Armero, Behrami, Inler, Insigne, Pandev, Hamsik, Jose Callejon.
Subs: Rafael, Dossena, Christian Maggio, Juan Zuniga, Josip Radosevic, Albiol, Dzemaili, Fernandez, Higuain, Mertens, Calaio
