After facing the MLS All-Stars and Manchester United, our US Tour concludes with a match against the European giants Barcelona at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 27 (3.30am UK time).
With a win and a loss under our belts so far Stateside, we’ll be looking to finish our trip on a high against the side Mikel Arteta began his career with, having come through the Catalan club’s famed La Masia academy alongside current Barca boss Xavi.
Ahead of our meeting with the reigning La Liga champions, here is everything you need to know about our opponents:
Find out how you can watch the game live on Arsenal.com and the official app
The history
A club with 77 domestic honours including 27 La Liga titles, plus five European Cups, Barcelona are one of the most successful and famous clubs on the planet.
Following their formation in 1899 they would dominate regional football and enjoyed a golden period in the 1920s under the presidency of Joan Gamper, culminating in winning the inaugural Primera Division (now known as La Liga) in 1929.
The Spanish Civil War heavily impacted the club and despite a decent spell during the 1950s, league success dried up and they would win only two championships between 1960 and 1991 despite boasting players such as Ballon d'Or winners Luis Suarez and Johan Cruyff plus Diego Maradona.
Cruyff’s arrival as manager turned the tide as he developed a side and style that swept all before them, winning four consecutive La Liga titles between 1991 and 1994, the 1989 Cup Winners’ Cup and their first European Cup in 1992.
Another would arrive in 2006 when they defeated us in the final, before Pep Guardiola - a player under Cruyff - took things to a new level. Building a team around Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andreas Iniesta, he lifted a first league title in 11 years in 2009 which would kickstart a run of eight successes in 11 years, with further Champions League triumphs coming under Guardiola in 2009 and 2011, with their last win coming in 2015.
The manager
Having won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues during 767 appearances across 17 years in Barcelona colours, club legend Xavi is no stranger to the culture of success that the Catalan club want to rebuild.
His managerial journey began with Qatari club Al-Sadd in 2019 where he managed over 100 games, picking up a league title and a total of seven trophies during his spell. In November 2021, he left to pursue his dream of managing Barcelona where he started as a youth player in 1991.
He took a side languishing in ninth under Ronald Koeman to an eventual second-placed finish, but last season saw him pick up his first silverware as head coach with a Supercopa de Espana win over Real Madrid.
Better things were to come though he guided his side to a first La Liga championship in four seasons, finishing 10 points ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid and conceding just 20 goals in their 38-game league campaign.
The squad
Xavi's rebuilding work has continued this summer, with his former teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba departing for Inter Miami on free transfers, while fellow long-servant Samuel Umtiti has also left for Lille.
However, the arrival of llkay Gundogan fresh from skippering Manchester City to a treble has replenished the quality of the squad, with Spanish international left-back Inigo Martinez and former Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu also arriving so far.
The latter is one of a number of familiar faces to Premier League supporters, including Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen, Ferran Torres and Raphina, while Robert Lewandowski enjoyed his first year at the club by netting 33 goals across all competitions.
Big-money recruits Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele were also regulars last season, while hopes are high for a new generation of stars in Pedri, Gavi and Ansu Fati.
The summer so far
As well as new arrivals on the pitch, this summer has seen Barcelona temporarily vacate their Nou Camp home as the stadium undergoes an 18-month-long renovation, with plans to increase the capacity to 105,000 and modernise the 66-year-old structure. They’ll now be playing at the 54,000-capacity former Olympic Stadium in the city.
Barca's time in the US got off to a difficult start with their game against Juventus in San Francisco called off due to an outbreak of gastroenteritis among the squad. Following our match in LA, they’ll take on Real Madrid in Dallas and AC Milan in Las Vegas, before hosting Tottenham Hotspur in their traditional Joan Gamper Trophy pre-season match.
The previous meetings
The last time we played Barcelona was in the Champions League last 16 in March 2016, when we were knocked out of the competition over two legs.
Gooners will have better memories of our 2011 meeting in the same competition when Jack Wilshere produced an unforgettable performance to help guide us to a 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium; our only win against Barcelona in nine head-to-heads.
Another historic battle between both clubs came five years prior in the 2006 Champions League final at the Stade de France, which ended in a 2-1 defeat after we took the lead through Sol Campbell’s header.
How to watch
All the action from SoFi Stadium will be streamed live on Arsenal.com and our official app, which kicks off at 3:30am UK time in the early hours of Thursday morning.
All this can be viewed on desktop, mobile devices or the app by buying a Match Pass for just £4.99 - but only if you purchase before the day of the game, when the price rises to £6.99.
If you want to watch the game on our app, please update it to the newest version - iOS | Android
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