A team-news report says Mikel Arteta will be without Mikel Merino, David Raya, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka, whose international campaigns ran deep into the World Cup. William Saliba is also sidelined with a back injury. Martin Ødegaard, by contrast, has returned to training after representing Norway.
Arsenal began pre-season with wins over MK Dons and Girona, then lost to Real Betis in Dublin. The Dortmund friendly gives Arteta a chance to assess his available options after that setback, but the list of absentees limits what the result can say about Arsenal at full strength.
Dortmund have beaten Rot-Weiss Oberhausen and FC Tokyo, but lost to Fortuna Düsseldorf and Cerezo Osaka. They have yet to play at home during this pre-season run. Nico Schlotterbeck and Emre Can are reported injured, while Serhou Guirassy, Waldemar Anton and Felix Nmecha have featured in recent matches.
The squad has also changed. Julian Brandt is reportedly bound for Ajax, Karim Adeyemi for Barcelona and Niklas Süle for Tiefenbach; Cole Campbell has moved to Elversberg. Seventeen-year-old winger Mathis Albert is among the names in contention, giving Dortmund another young option amid the turnover.
For Arsenal, the main watchpoint is how Ødegaard’s return affects a side missing several regulars. For Dortmund, it is whether recent contributors can build consistency before the team’s next pre-season test.