Arsenal host Coventry City in the opening Premier League match of the 2026/27 season at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night as Mikel Arteta’s side begin the defence of their crown.

The Gunners are hoping to win back-to-back league titles for the first time since the 1930s, and avoiding an upset against a newly promoted side on opening night will be a challenging initial test for them. Meanwhile, Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues will be playing their first top-flight match since 2001, and they’ve not been granted the most welcoming of return fixtures.

GIVEMESPORT has taken a look at the team news for both sides and how they could line up on Friday…

Arsenal Team News

Arsenal have two major injury concerns heading into the new season. William Saliba is expected to miss the first few months of the campaign after his long-standing back issue hit its breaking point during the World Cup. While the Frenchman has avoided surgery, he’s partway through a lengthy spell of rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, Jurrien Timber missed the summer tournament in North America altogether as he fights his way back from a groin issue. Speaking to the media (via Arsenal.com) prior to Arsenal’s Community Shield clash with Manchester City, Arteta provided an update on the Dutchman’s situation.

Predicted Arsenal XI

Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

Arsenal comfortably dispatched City at the Millennium Stadium last week, and Arteta is likely to roll out an almost identical starting eleven to the one he deployed in Wales.

The Gunners are closing in on the signing of Ezri Konsa, although the England international certainly won’t be through the door in time to feature against Coventry. That means Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera will retain their places, while Riccardo Calafiori is likely to be selected over Piero Hincapie again.

In midfield, Myles Lewis-Skelly’s exceptional performance against the Citizens may earn him a start again alongside Bruno Guimaraes. Declan Rice may be slowly integrated back into the side following his excursions with England over the summer.

Bukayo Saka for Noni Madueke could be the one change Arteta makes. The Gunners’ talisman played just 30 minutes during pre-season, all of which came in the Community Shield, but should be ready to play somewhere between a half and an hour on Friday.

• Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Guimaraes, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Tzolis.

Coventry Team News

Lampard has a number of injury issues to contend with heading to N5. Midfielder Jack Rudoni has been suffering with a long-term shoulder problem and is subsequently a doubt for the trip to the Emirates. Meanwhile, wide man Ephron Mason-Clark and number eight Frank Onyeka are both doubts due to minor injuries sustained during pre-season.

Prolific striker Haji Wright has a suspected thigh strain and has been ruled out of the game on Friday, while defender Luke Woolfenden is also unavailable.

Speaking to the media last week, Lampard provided an update on two doubtful players…

Predicted Coventry XI

Lampard is expected to persist with the 4-3-3 system that earned his side promotion to the top flight. Carl Rushworth will start in goal, while new signing Aurele Amenda is expected to make his debut alongside Bobby Thomas at the heart of the Sky Blues’ defence.

Milan van Ewijk and Jay Dasilva will be rewarded for their strong Championship seasons, as will midfielder Matt Grimes. If Onyeka proves to be unavailable, Victor Torp could start in the middle of the park next to new addition Caleb Yirenkyi.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Louma Tchaouna will flank Ellis Simms in the forward line.

Predicted Coventry XI: Rushworth, Van Ewijk, Amenda, Thomas, Dasilva, Grimes, Torp, Yirenkyi, Sakamoto, Simms, Tchaouna

It’s not often players come out of retirement in their forties, but one of football’s all-time greats is doing just that with one particular goal in mind.

The sport looks to soon be bidding farewell to Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, who recently said that he’d likely be calling time on his career next year. His longtime Ballon d’Or rival Lionel Messi, 39, is in the twilight years of his career, and after missing out on a second World Cup with Argentina, there is talk of him retiring in the near future.

Fans dread the day their footballing heroes decide to hang up their boots, although some have gone against their decision in the past. Take, for example, Paul Scholes, who retired in 2011 but made a comeback a year later to win the Premier League in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season as Manchester United boss.

Ronaldinho Makes Shock Return With Italian Outfit

REUTERS/Ciro De Luca

Scholes was only 37 when he came out of retirement and had only spent a year away from the pitch. It’s been 11 years since Ronaldinho decided to call it quits, but the Brazilian is set to make a shock return.

Ronaldinho has flown to Italy after signing for third-tier outfit Ravenna and will be presented in front of six thousand fans at a beach festival on the Adriatic coast. Having made history in European football with Barcelona, he’s now ready to lace up his boots once again at the grand old age of 46.

There is a good reason the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner is returning to the pitch and joining a club playing in Serie C. He is the minority owner of the Italian minnows and part of the ownership group led by Ignazio Cipriani, the grandson of Giuseppe Cipriani, who owns Harry’s Bar in Venice.

To dispel suggestions that this was all just a publicity stunt, Cipriani explained why the 2002 World Cup winner is coming out of retirement (via The Athletic):

The last time Ronaldinho was in action was way back in 2015 at Fluminense, where he seemed to be ending his career. He’s no stranger to Italian football, having spent two and a half seasons at AC Milan after leaving Barca, where he wrote his name in European football history.

Ronaldinho also spent his career playing for Paris Saint-Germain, Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, and Querétaro, and as a member of the Brazil squad that wowed fans throughout the late nineties and 2000s. He could make his debut for Ravenna in their season opener against Reggiana on Monday (August 24th).

Ronaldinho has now become the fifth player in history over the age of 40 to come out of retirement. Another Brazilian took the top spot as Romario made a surprise comeback after retiring in 2009, signing for America RJ at 58 to play alongside his son, Romarinho.

Romario similarly served as the Brazilian club’s president, and evidently, legends are enticed to return when remaining in the sport in a business capacity. Others who have made shock U-turns include Jens Lehmann, who called time on his career in 2010 at Stuttgart but re-signed with Arsenal a year later, aged 41, due to a goalkeeping crisis.

One of Ronaldinho’s former teammates, Rivaldo, made a comeback just 15 months after retiring at age 43. The Barcelona icon registered for Mogi Mirim while serving as club president and even scored in the same match as his son Rivaldinho.

At the age of 42, Juan Sebastian Veron, kept his promise to Estudiantes fans that he would come out of retirement if 65% of boxes were bought at their new stadium. The former Manchester United midfielder played in the 2017 Copa Libertadores.

The departure from WWE of a former United States Champion with ‘World Championship potential’ has been confirmed and fans are absolutely fuming.

As originally reported by PWInsider, Ilja Dragunov has left the company following the expiry of his contract. The 32-year-old first joined WWE in 2019, initially as part of the NXT UK brand.

He was a former NXT UK Champion, NXT Champion, and WWE United States Champion. Dragunov frequently appeared on SmackDown in the latter part of 2025, often defending the US Title as part of an open challenge.

Ilja Dragunov Leaves WWE

Renowned for his hard-hitting style, Dragunov’s matches were a highlight of the period for a number of fans, many of whom expected him to go on and enjoy a main event run after he lost the championship to Carmelo Hayes on the December 26th edition of SmackDown.

Dragunov was a part of the 2026 Royal Rumble, where he was eliminated by Brock Lesnar. During the match, he went viral after appearing to refuse to sell for ‘The Beast’, after which his presence on television noticeably declined.

He last appeared on television during the April 17th episode of SmackDown, where he competed in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He was moved to the ‘Alumni’ section of the official WWE website shortly before the report emerged.

WWE Fans Fume After Superstar’s Departure

News of his exit has not gone down well on social media, with many fans accusing Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque and his creative staff of having “fumbled” a top talent.

“Genuinely one of their biggest fumbles EVER,” wrote one fan. “This company grows more allergic to good wrestling every single day. Can’t wait to see him finally thrive again elsewhere. That man is a STAR!”

Another disillusioned fan asked: “How do you not see his world championship potential?”

A third fan agreed: “Triple H needs to lower his head in shame,” while a separate poster chimed in: “How in the f*** do you fumble a talent like him? Just dunces inside that company.”

A further post declared: “The way they misused him is criminal,” while a final comment summed up the general feeling behind WWE allowing Dragunov’s contract to expire as they raged: “I f****** hate this company, bro!”

Dragunov joins a growing list of former champions to have left WWE in recent months, with the likes of Sheamus and The New Day also departing in controversial circumstances.