The 54th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy game will pit FC Barcelona against UEFA Europa League finalists Arsenal on August 4 in the game which traditionally serves as Barça’s unveiling ahead of the new season. It will be the first Gamper appearance for Arsenal.
Pregame festivities at Camp Nou will include the Estrella Damm Gamper Festival consisting of musical performances and fun activities held on the stadium grounds prior to the official presentation of the team for the 2019-20 season.
Preseason taking shape
The Gamper joins a preseason slate of matches that includes two matches in Japan — against Chelsea in Tokyo on July 23 and versus Vissel Kobe in Kobe on July — before the La Liga is set to open in mid-August. But before La Liga begins and after the Gamper, Barça will travel to the United States to wrap up the preseason.
Arsenal’s Gamper debut
The English club, led by Unai Emery, will be making its first Gamper appearance in the game’s 54th edition. Barça and Arsenal have met have five times in the Champions League while their first official clash came in the group stage of the 1999/2000 season.
They also met in the famous final of the 2006 Champions League in Paris in which Frank Rijkaard’s Barça beat Arsenal 2-1 with goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti.
Other meetings have come in the 2009-10 quarterfinals with Barça going through 6-3 on aggregate (2-2, 4-1. One year later they met in the last 16, with Barça losing at Arsenal only to win 3-1 at Camp Nou with two goals from Leo Messi. The most recent game was in the 2015/16 Champions League with Barça going through 5-1 on aggregate (0-2, 3-1).
Seventh English Gamper appearance
The Gamper has featured English teams six times and only Manchester City has played twice. The first English team was Ipswich Town in 1981/82, followed by Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa in the following three editions. The 1986-87 Gamper featured Tottenham Hotspur, while the last British team to play the Gamper was Manchester City in 2009/10.