Arsenal's friendly with AC Milan on Wednesday could offer "a couple of clues" as to how Mikel Arteta's side will gel in the 2025-26 season, expert Charles Watts believes.

The Gunners' pre-season tour of Asia commences with a high-profile clash with the Rossoneri in Singapore on July 23, their second engagement of the summer after a 2-0 behind-closed-doors win over Watford.

New signings Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard could all make their first appearances for the club, while Milan will play their first game under returning boss Massimiliano Allegri.

The Italian has become renowned for his pragmatic style of play, potentially offering Arsenal good practice in trying to break down low blocks, but Watts has stressed that minutes matter more than results at this stage.

“It's so hard to predict, isn't it? With these games, especially the first one of the summer, we don't know what sort of team he's going to play," Watts told Sports Mole. "Will it be half an hour for some people, 60 minutes for others? Will it be 45, 45? You want the team to play well, of course you do, but I don't think it's the be all and end all.

“That comes when they get back from the tour, certainly the two games at the Emirates are the ones where you really look to performance and want to see those really improving ahead of the start of the new season. Right now, it's just about fitness. Getting minutes into the players’ legs. You want to see some good partnerships.

Watts expects "a couple of clues" from Arsenal-Milan friendly

“I'm really interested to see Zubimendi. That's going to be a really, really intriguing part of this summer tour. How he gets on, how he immediately starts to link up with Martin Odegaard, because let's face it, that partnership's going to be absolutely crucial to how Arsenal get on this season.

“I'm not too bothered on how Milan will set up or how they're going to play. I don't think Arteta will be too worried about that either. I think he'll just want to see certainly from some of the new signings, from some of the players who ended last season injured how their fitness is."

However, the Gunners expert suggested that fans could get a glimpse of how some players will link up in Arteta's system, adding “Gabriel played 45 minutes against Watford and came through that fine. The plan to get him ready for the start of pre-season has worked. And Saliba by all accounts, is very similar with that.

"Those are the main things we're going to be looking out for tomorrow, rather than patterns of play and how Milan line up, how Arsenal line up. It’s all about minutes. It's all about fitness. Maybe a couple of clues in terms of how some partnerships are going to work.”

Alongside his senior big-hitters and fringe players, Arteta has summoned a plethora of academy products for Arsenal's Asia tour, none more prominent than 15-year-old playmaker Max Dowman.

Will Dowman make his Arsenal debut against Milan?

The 2009-born product was ineligible to make his debut in the 2024-25 season due to being registered as an Under-15s player at the start of the campaign, but he regularly trained with the first team while representing the Under-18s and Under-21s.

While Watts does not expect Dowman to make his full unofficial debut against Milan, he would be surprised not to see the teenager earn his first senior minutes in red and white.

“I think he'll use him in these games. He's trained so much for the last nine months or so without being able to play. This is an opportunity for him to play in front of some fans, and I don't think Arteta will really hold him back. He's not going to play loads next season in the Premier League, but I think he'll get some minutes during this tour.

“Arsenal fans around the world are desperate to see what this kid can do. We've all spoken about him. We've all heard about him. And this is the first real opportunity we're going to get, certainly in a first team environment, to see him around these players. I think we'll see him play tomorrow. I'll be surprised if we don't.”

Arsenal could announce the signing of Cristhian Mosquera before kickoff, as the Valencia defender flew to Singapore on Tuesday to complete his move, while Viktor Gyokeres is finally on the verge of his long-awaited transfer too.

> Click here to listen to the full preview of Arsenal's friendly with AC Milan

Written by
Ben Knapton