Arsenal’s second string will begin the 2016/17 season against Reading at Meadow Park on Friday, August 12.
The 7pm kick-off will be the Gunners’ first game in the newly-rebranded Premier League Two Division One, formerly known as the Under-21 Premier League.
Steve Gatting’s side will then face Manchester City at the Etihad a week later, before hosting Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on August 26.
The new Premier League Two has a greater focus on a level of play in terms of technicality, physicality and intensity to bring players as close to first-team experience as possible, which is why the age limit for players has risen from under-21 to under-23 (players born after January 1, 1993).
The rules regarding overage players will remain the same, where each team can field a goalkeeper over the age limit and up to three overage outfield players in every match.
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