Preview: Barnet v. Arsenal, Friendly

Tomas Rosicky returned from injury to make his first appearance in 18 months in this friendly last year.
Pic via Arsenal.com.

Underhill Stadium, London

Saturday, July 17

15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT

• This Match, Last Year: Barnet 2 - 2 Arsenal
• All-Time in Friendlies: 7 Arsenal wins, 0 Barnet wins, 3 draws
• No meetings in actual competition
• Arsenal Last Year: 23 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses; 3rd place, Premier League
• Barnet Last Year: 12 wins, 12 draws, 22 losses; 21st place. League Two
• Barnet avoided relegation out of The Football League by four points

Last Year: Barnet 2 - 2 Arsenal

• First Half XI: Almunia, Djourou, Gallas, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Wilshere, Randall, Frimpong, Rosicky, Arshavin, Watt
• Second Half XI: Mannone, Coquelin, Ayling, Vermaelen, Cruise, Eastmond, Henderson, Emmanuel-Thomas, Barazite, Sunu, Simpson
• Arsenal goals: Arshavin 43, Barazite 51
• Barnet goals: Yakubu 45, Charles 83

Who Is Barnet?

• "The Bees" were formed in 1888 as an amateur side.
• Barnet turned semi-professional in 1965/66.
• They won the Conference by two points in 1991 to earn their first spot in the Football League.
• Since that point, the Bees have spent 15 seasons in League football and four in the Conference.
• The highest point Barnet has reached was the third tier, in 1993/94. They spent nearly the entire season in last place and were relegated.
• Barnet has played a friendly with Arsenal every season since 2000; they have never met in a competitive match.
• Barnet has played one pre-season friendly thus far in 2010, a 2-1 win over Blue Square South (sixth tier of English football) side Thurrock yesterday.

News and Notes

• New signings Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny should make appearances. We need chants by Saturday! Hurry!!
• I would not expect any Gunner who played in the World Cup to appear Saturday... and probably not for some (like van Persie and Fabregas) until the Emirates Cup at the end of the month.
• Ten established Gunners could make appearances, but no-one's participation is guaranteed, and the second half is likely to see almost entirely reserve players. Those ten Gunners (which do not include the aforementioned new signings) are Manuel Almunia, Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Denilson, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Andrei Arshavin, and Theo Walcott.