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Arsenal and Fiorentina will meet at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday in International Champions Cup play.
The match begins at 6 p.m. ET. It won’t be on regular TV in the United States, but you can watch Arsenal vs Fiorentina on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of select ICC games, other live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Arsenal vs Fiorentina on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Arsenal vs Fiorentina Preview
Fiorentina won the friendly tournament’s opening match, besting Guadalajara 2-1 on Tuesday at SeatGeek Stadium just outside of Chicago.
The Liga MX side struck first when a Javier Eduardo López attempt deflected off the foot of Fiorentina defender Federico Ceccherini and into Bartłomiej Drągowski’s net in the 25th minute.
Fiorentina striker Giovanni Simeone equalized two minutes later, heading home a free-kick cross. Riccaro Sottil notched the game-winner in the 52nd after gathering a rebound on the right side of the net, dribbling himself free, and finding the far post.
“We won, I’m happy. We have to get used to it, today I saw this desire until the end of the game,” Fiorentina head coach Vincenzo Montella said, according to Italian soccer news site CalcioMercato.com. “I’m happy with the attitude and attitude put in place, we must also consider the moment and the new players. [Aleksa] Terzić surprised me, [Szymon] Żurkowski already knew him a little more, he has to grow up. [Dušan] Vlahović has grown and can still do a lot. For the physicality he can give more, he must learn to understand the times of the team.”
Federico Chiesa, who led Fiorentina with 12 goals across all competitions last season, and starting center back Nikola Milenković didn’t participate on Tuesday. They represented Italy and Serbia, respectively, in 2020 UEFA European Championship qualifying in March and June.
“Chiesa? He and Milenković have just arrived, I will need them at full strength,” Montella added, per CalcioMercato.com. “Only the few that were needed today have been trained.”
Arsenal claimed victory in their opener as well, besting Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich 2-1 on Wednesday in Carson, California. Eddie Nketiah, a 20-year-old forward with eight senior club appearances to his credit, tallied the game-winner from point-blank range in the 88th minute.
The London native also impressed in the team’s 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Monday.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, 21, and 19-year-olds Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson saw meaningful minutes against Bayern as well.
“We have a responsibility with young players to give them chances,” Arsenal head coach Unai Emery said, according to Goal.
“We want to use different young players to help.
“Some players will be with us in pre-season; some players will be with us in the season. Each minute they show their performance against big players. For example, the [duel] Nketiah [won] against [Niklas] Sule.
“Today was very positive. Against Colorado Rapids a lot of young players played. We need them for the moment but also in the future.
“Our responsibility in this club for the history, present and future is to give young players a chance.”
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