The Brief: Arsenal v Villarreal

Our under-23s face Villarreal in the semi-final of the Premier League International Cup on Tuesday night. 

The story so far 

We kicked off the group stage with a 1-0 win over last year’s winners, Porto. It was a hard-fought battle with both sides working a number of clear-cut opportunities, but Reiss Nelson’s curling effort in the second half was enough to secure all three points. 

We were then held to a 0-0 draw against Reading, but ended the group stage in fine form with a 5-2 win over Bayern Munich. 

That saw us advance to the quarter finals, where we picked up a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb thanks to goals from Joe Willock and Josh Dasilva.

The opposition 

Villarreal come into this clash in fine form, having won each of their Premier League International Cup fixtures so far. 

A 90th-minute winner from Dario Poveda helped the Spanish outfit to a 3-2 victory against Benfica, before they beat West Ham 3-0 and then Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. 

Adrian Dalmau recorded a hat-trick against the Hammers in the group stage, and he maintained this inspired form in their quarter-final clash with Manchester United. 

The Spaniard opened the scoring just after the break, before Pedro Martinez doubled their lead in the 50th minute. The latter is considered the creative hub of the side, having claimed three assists and a goal in the competition so far. 

One to watch 

After making his full Premier League debut against Southampton on Sunday, Reiss Nelson will certainly be full of confidence if he is selected for this fixture. 

Nelson is the youngest player to start a Premier League game for us since September 2013 (18 years 120 days) and has recorded eight goals in just 10 Premier League 2 appearances. 

Follow the action 

Kick-off is at 7pm. We will be providing updates on our Twitter account - @Arsenal - and you can read a match report on Arsenal.com shortly after the full-time whistle.