Arsenal have confirmed the return of the Emirates Cup this summer, though the format will be different from previous years.

Previously, Arsenal have invited three teams to join them in a two-day tournament where each side plays two matches and the winner is whoever gets the most points, with every goal counting as a point, plus three for a win and one for a draw.

This time, the format is going to be completely different, with just a one-day event. Presumably, that’s because Arsenal already have a packed pre-season. They also didn’t seem sure if the stadium would even be available this summer given the planned improvement works going on in Club Level. Clearly, that’s no longer viewed as an issue.

The Arsenal men and the Arsenal women will play one game each, with their opponents yet to be confirmed. As a result, this is the schedule for Unai Emery’s side this summer, with times given in BST:

• July 16th (01:00) – Colorado Rapids – DICK’s Sporting Goods Park, CO, USA
• July 18th (04:00) – Bayern Munich – Dignity Health Sports Park, CA, USA
• July 20th (23:00) – AS Roma – Bank of America Stadium, NC, USA
• July 24th (00:00) – Real Madrid – FedExField, MD, USA
• July 28th (TBC) – Emirates Cup – Emirates Stadium

It remains to be seen whether the team will also play their usual pre-season opener against Boreham Wood. Last year, that was on July 14th, so perhaps Arsenal have decided on an extra game in the USA instead, though they may still field an u23 team at Meadow Park. We’ll see.