Preview: Arsenal vs Real Betis - prediction, team news, lineups

Following a four-midable display against one Spanish opponent, Arsenal endeavour to maintain their 100% start to pre-season in Wednesday's friendly against Real Betis at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The Gunners strode past Girona 4-1 in their first official exhibition game of the summer, while Los Verdiblancos are already on their sixth game of pre-season; four of their first five have ended in victory.

Match preview

Back-to-back three-goal wins, new signing Christos Tzolis opening his (unofficial) account and teenage wonderkid Max Dowman sending tongues wagging again; Mikel Arteta could not have asked for much more so far this summer.

The Premier League champions kicked off their title defence preparations with a straightforward 3-0 behind-closed-doors win over MK Dons, before making light work of Spanish second-tier side and former Champions League foes Girona on Saturday evening.

Sixteen-year-old Dowman stole the spotlight with a goal and assist at Estadio Montilivi, where £34m acquisition Tzolis also made the net bulge alongside effort from seasoned strikers Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

Returning to semi-familiar shores for their third friendly of the summer, Arsenal coincidentally play their third game at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, following a 1-1 friendly draw with Chelsea in 2018 and 4-2 Europa League win over Dundalk in 2020.

While Arteta's troops maintain focus on their on-field duties, the Emirates faithful are casting a sharp eye on the Vinicius Junior transfer situation, which the Arsenal boss laughed off when directly questioned about over the weekend.

A team all too familiar with the Real Madrid attacker's sizzling star quality, Real Betis are already past the halfway point in their pre-season calendar; five games down, three to go, two against Premier League opposition in Arsenal and Bournemouth.

Manuel Pellegrini's men only have one blot on the friendly notebook - a 1-0 reverse to Granada on July 25 - as Los Verdiblancos have got the better of Lotte, Recreativo de Huelva, Lyon and most recently Almeria over the past couple of weeks.

A 70th-minute winner from Ivan Corralejo proved decisive in a 1-0 victory over the latter for Real Betis, whose fifth-placed finish in the 2025-26 La Liga season earned them a Champions League ticket for just the second time in their history.

Pellegrini's side now have three opportunities to test their mettle against European-calibre opposition - Champions League-chasing Arsenal on Wednesday, Europa League-bound Bournemouth on August 8 and Inter Milan on August 15 - before beginning the new top-flight campaign at home to Real Sociedad on August 21.

The midweek match will mark the first-ever meeting between Arsenal and Real Betis, although a reunion in the 2026-27 Champions League league phase could come to fruition when the draw is held on August 27.

Arsenal friendly form:

Real Betis friendly form:

Team News

Upon their returns from World Cup duty, Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Piero Hincapie were all limited to 33-minute run-outs against Girona, substitutions that were pre-planned rather than reactive.

Arteta is not expected to welcome back any Mundial competitors on Wednesday evening, and the Arsenal boss also lost Jurrien Timber before kickoff against Girona, as the Dutchman travelled back to London to continue his groin rehabilitation.

Thankfully, Ben White came through 61 minutes of Saturday's win unscathed after a long-term knee injury, but the embryonic Marli Salmon is an alternative if Arteta does not wish to risk the former again.

Speaking of defensive concerns, Real Betis defender Diego Llorente had to come off in the dying embers of the win over Almeria due to muscular fatigue, but he is not believed to be nursing a serious issue.

Los Verdiblancos are already missing Aitor Ruibal (knee), Diego Conde (shoulder) and Abde Ezzalzouli (knee), but ex-Real Madrid star Isco played his first pre-season minutes against Almeria and is a candidate to start on Wednesday.

Ex-Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin is in line for a reunion with his erstwhile employers; the 31-year-old managed two goals and three assists for Betis in the 2025-26 La Liga season.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Mosquera, Salmon, Hincapie, Calafiori; Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Havertz; Dowman, Jesus, Tzolis

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Gonzalez; Bellerin, Llorente, Gomez, Firpo; Roca, Corralejo; Antony, Isco, Fornals; Petit

We say: Arsenal 3-1 Real Betis

Arsenal's youthful and vibrant attack has been firing on all cylinders so far this summer, although a fellow Champions League rival will provide their stiffest test yet.

However, fatigue may set in for Real Betis in their sixth friendly of the summer, so we have every expectation that Arsenal's 100% pre-season streak will continue.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.