Premier League preseason delivered a bruising Sunday for two of the title favourites. Arsenal lost 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates, Liverpool threw away a two-goal lead at Anfield to lose by the same scoreline to Monaco, and only Manchester City emerged from the day with real credit. With the season opener now eleven days away, the warning signs are stacking up.
Arsenal 2-3 Borussia Dortmund
Arsenal’s first home appearance since being crowned champions was meant to be a celebration. Instead, a young and fearless Dortmund side spoiled it, taking the Emirates Cup and inflicting a second successive defeat on Mikel Arteta’s team.
The visitors led inside five minutes through Italian youngster Samuele Inacio, who finished off a sublime pass from Felix Nmecha. Greek forward Konstantinos Karetsas doubled the advantage before the first-half hydration break with a fine strike into the top corner. Arsenal responded early in the second half, Christos Tzolis — a bright spark throughout on one of his first outings since his summer move from Club Brugge — teeing up substitute Ethan Nwaneri for a simple finish.
Any momentum evaporated moments later when Joane Gadou restored the two-goal cushion following sloppy defending from a corner. Viktor Gyokeres pulled one back late, but Arsenal ran out of time. In a pre-arranged practice shootout afterwards, Arsenal did win 5-4, with new goalkeeper Illan Meslier denying Mathis Albert.
There was a lift before kick-off, at least: Bruno Guimaraes was unveiled to supporters, completing his move from Newcastle. We covered the full details of the Bruno Guimaraes Arsenal transfer earlier this week.
Liverpool’s familiar collapse
Liverpool’s afternoon followed a script Anfield has seen too often this summer. Andoni Iraola’s side surrendered a two-goal lead for the second time in preseason, with Paris Brunner’s late strike sealing a 3-2 win for Monaco.
For a manager still installing his ideas after arriving in June, the concern is less the result than the pattern. Liverpool had already thrown away a lead in their 4-2 defeat to Leeds, and giving up control from winning positions is exactly the sort of habit a new coach needs to eliminate before competitive football begins. They open away at Newcastle on 23 August.
Manchester City and Chelsea round out the Premier League preseason weekend
Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City were the day’s clear winners, beating Atletico Madrid 3-1 in Seoul to cap a tidy tour that also included a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan and a 3-1 win over the K-League All-Stars. City face Arsenal in the Community Shield in Cardiff on 16 August, giving Maresca a competitive test before the league begins.
Chelsea, meanwhile, closed their Asia tour with a chaotic 3-3 draw against Johor Darul Ta’zim, having to fight back to salvage the result. It followed a 3-0 win over AC Milan and a 1-0 defeat to Juventus — the game that marked Mykhailo Mudryk’s return from his doping ban. Xabi Alonso’s side have been wildly inconsistent across the summer, shipping four goals to Western Sydney Wanderers in a 6-4 win and losing to Tottenham.
What preseason results actually tell us
The standard caveat applies: friendlies are training exercises. Managers rotate heavily, fitness levels vary wildly between players, and nobody is setting up to win at all costs. Arsenal fielded a lineup full of squad players and academy graduates against Dortmund, and the Germans’ scorers were largely their own young prospects rather than established stars.
That said, there are patterns worth noting. Arsenal’s defensive lapses from set pieces and Liverpool’s inability to see out leads are structural issues rather than fitness ones, and both have recurred. Both squads have also been disrupted by the delayed start to the campaign — the season was pushed back a week to give World Cup participants extra recovery, meaning several first-choice internationals have only been available for a fraction of preparation.
The wider context is a division in flux. Nine of the twenty clubs begin the campaign under a manager appointed this year, and as we set out in our look at the new Premier League managers for 2026/27, most of these squads are still learning entirely new systems. Ragged preseason performances are close to inevitable in that environment.
What’s next
The final week of Premier League preseason is busy. Wednesday 12 August brings Arsenal v Como at the Emirates, Newcastle v Everton in Edinburgh, Leeds v Manchester United in Dublin, Malaga v Fulham and Nottingham Forest v Bayer Leverkusen. Manchester United then face AC Milan in Wroclaw on 15 August, the same day Chelsea host Real Sociedad and Brighton welcome Bologna.
The Community Shield on 16 August pits Arsenal against Manchester City at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the first time the venue has hosted the fixture since 2006. The league itself begins on Friday 21 August, when Arsenal host newly promoted Coventry at the Emirates in an 8pm kick-off. If you’re finalising a fantasy squad, our FPL Gameweek 1 captain picks guide breaks down the armband options for the opening round.
Arteta is also reportedly still trying to add to his squad after missing out on Vinicius Junior, who committed to a new deal at Real Madrid. With the window open until 31 August, these squads may look different again by the time the real action starts. For full match detail, ESPN’s report on the Dortmund game has a blow-by-blow account, while the Premier League’s official fixtures and results page tracks every club’s summer schedule.
