We last faced the side in the UEFA Champions League in January 2025 and is the first match of our pre-season schedule before heading to Dublin to take on Real Betis.

Here, we examine the history behind our pre-season opponents, what they've been up to since our last meeting, and who can expect to face at 7pm on Saturday, August 1.

You can watch our match against Girona this weekend by purchasing your pre-season pass now!

THE HISTORY

Based in Catalonia in the north-east corner of the county, Girona were founded in 1930 and reached the Segunda Division five years later - Spain’s second tier. They would fluctuate between there and the third division up until the 1970s before their decline continued and dropped into regional football twice in the 1980s and 1990s.

Gradually they began to ascend up the divisions again and in 2008 they returned to the Segunda for the first time in 49 years. After a couple of close calls, in 2017 they finally made it to La Liga by finishing runners-up, and later became part of the City Football Group.

They survived in the top-flight for two years before being relegated in 2018/19, but returned via the play-offs in 2021/22 by beating Tenerife in the final. In 2023/24, they qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, before suffering relegation back to the second tier in 2025/26.

THE STADIUM

Girona play their games at the Estadi Montilivi, which was built in 1970. It has an official capacity of 14,624.

It enjoyed expansions in both 2017 and 2022 as the team tasted success, and its record attendance came back in 2019 when 14,158 crammed in to watch them take on Real Madrid. The ground has also been the host of three international friendly matches, two of which were for the Mexican national side in November 2022.

LAST SEASON

After a first foray into European football in 2024/25, the 2025/26 season would be one to forget for the Blanquivermells as they were relegated back to the Segunda Division.

Having won just once in the first 11 matches, Girona rallied, and by matchweek 30 were as high as 12th place. But in a congested league and failing to win any of the final eight matches saw them finish in 19th position. Their points tally of 41 would have kept them up in each of the past 14 seasons, but instead saw them return to the second tier.

THE MANAGER

Following the departure of head coach Michel after five seasons in charge, Quique Alvarez has taken up the position in a bid to lead the side back to the big time.

This is Alvarez's first job as the top boss, having previously been in charge of Girona B, as well as stints as assistant at Levante, Alaves and Villarreal, where he made more than 200 appearances as a centre back. He had a 47% win rate in charge of the B team, taking charge of 55 matches over two seasons.

THE SQUAD

A host of former Premier League players currently ply their trade with the Blanquivermells. Donny van der Beek from Manchester United and Bryan Gil from Tottenham Hotspur are still part of the squad following relegation. 

They joined a squad that also contains ex-Spurs shot-stopper Paulo Gazzaniga and 39-year-old Cristhian Stuani, who is captain and the club's top scorer, and had a short stint at Middlesbrough. 

Azzedine Ounahi, who featured in Morocco's run to the World Cup semi-final in 2022 and quarter-final this summer, is a mainstay in the midfield, with Ukrainian Vladyslav Vanat the dangerman up top.

PREVIOUS MEETING

We went head-to-head on the final match of the UEFA Champions League league phase in January 2025.

With a top eight spot already confirmed, a rotated side fell behind to former Everton man Arnaut Danjuma on 28 minutes. 

Jorginho's penalty levelled the score in Spain before a sensational strike from Ethan Nwaneri, his first in the Champions League, turned things around before half-time.

Raheem Sterling missed a late penalty, but we held on to claim the victory in Catalonia.

HOW TO WATCH

There's only one way to watch our match against Girona and that is on Arsenal.com and the Arsenal app. 

We are offering an early bird pass, allowing you to purchase all of our pre-season fixtures for just £8.99. Should you want to watch just this match, you can pay £6.99.

For more details, click the link below!