Arsenal FC - Real Betis live - Football

Arsenal and Real Betis meet for the very first time in history in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, 5 August 2026, at 7:30 pm BST at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Gunners arrive as Premier League champions, unbeaten in five competitive fixtures before this pre-season, while Real Betis come into the summer on the back of a historic Champions League qualification with four wins from their last five pre-season outings. This maiden meeting between the two clubs is one of the standout friendly fixtures of the summer.

Match Info: Arsenal vs Real Betis

Arsenal take on Real Betis at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, on Wednesday, 5 August 2026, kicking off at 7:30 pm BST (18:30 UTC). The iconic 51,700-capacity venue hosts Arsenal's first pre-season fixture on Irish soil since 2018, in what promises to be a vibrant atmosphere for this Club Friendly encounter.

Where to Watch Arsenal vs Real Betis?

Fans in England and Ireland can catch the clash between Arsenal and Real Betis on Premier Sports 1 on television and via the Premier Sports Player streaming platform - the primary broadcast options for supporters throughout Great Britain and Ireland. The official arsenal.com website also carries a live stream of the match available globally.

Across the rest of the world, Onefootball offers global online coverage, while viewers in Australia have access through Paramount+, and supporters in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Japan can follow the action on DAZN. Fans in Brazil are catered for by Claro TV+ and Zapping, while FanCode serves India, Vidio covers Indonesia, MONOMAX Thailand, and Maraya the United Arab Emirates.

In the United States, the meeting of Arsenal and Real Betis is available on CBS Sports Network and Fox Deportes on TV, and on Fubo TV and FOX One online. Latin American viewers across Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and more can find it on Claro Sports channels. Turkish viewers can choose between TRT Spor on television and Digiturk Play or tabii online. In Spain, the fixture is broadcast on Betis TV, and in Portugal on Sport TV1 (TV) and Sport TV Multiscreen (online).

Match between Arsenal and Real Betis - Preview

Arsenal face Real Betis in a historic first encounter between these two clubs, as both sides arrive with momentum and ambition - the Gunners as England's reigning champions, and Betis as newly minted Champions League qualifiers from Spain.

Mikel Arteta's side ended a 22-year wait for a Premier League title in 2025-26, clinching the trophy after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth. Arsenal also reached the Champions League final in Budapest, where a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain was followed by a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat on penalties. That near-miss adds extra motivation heading into the new campaign, with a squad still missing several key internationals - Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, David Raya, and Martin Zubimendi are yet to return from their post-World Cup break, while William Saliba and Jurrien Timber continue injury recoveries. Even so, the 4-1 pre-season win over Girona on 1 August - with Kai Havertz, Christos Tzolis, Max Dowman, and Gabriel Jesus all scoring - demonstrated more than sufficient depth.

Real Betis arrive with their own historic achievement: Manuel Pellegrini's side finished fifth in La Liga in 2025-26, securing Champions League football for the first time in almost two decades. Their pre-season has been encouraging, headlined by a commanding 4-0 victory over Lyon on 29 July. The Seville club's squad has changed little over the summer, with Pellegrini opting for continuity over wholesale reinvention.

Head-to-Head: Arsenal vs Real Betis

Wednesday's fixture at the Aviva Stadium marks the absolute first meeting between Arsenal and Real Betis - two clubs from England and Spain's top flights who have somehow never crossed paths in any competition, official or friendly, throughout their histories.

With no previous head-to-head meetings on record, Wednesday's game opens an entirely new chapter for this fixture. Current head-to-head record:

• 5 August 2026 - Club Friendly - Arsenal vs Real Betis (first-ever meeting)

Arsenal - Recent Form

Arsenal enter this pre-season in formidable shape, winning 4 of their last 5 competitive fixtures across the Premier League and Champions League, including a 4-1 pre-season opener against Girona on 1 August.

The Gunners' final weeks of the 2025-26 campaign were a study in consistent quality. A 1-0 win at West Ham (10 May), a 1-0 home victory over Burnley (18 May), and a 1-2 win at Crystal Palace (24 May) closed out the Premier League title in emphatic fashion. The Champions League final on 30 May brought heartbreak - Kai Havertz's sixth-minute opener gave Arsenal the lead, but Ousmane Dembélé's penalty levelled things before PSG prevailed 4-3 on spot kicks. The pre-season then delivered a confident statement: Girona were swept aside 4-1, with summer signing Tzolis and teenage sensation Dowman both joining Havertz and Jesus on the scoresheet.

Despite the absence of several key internationals, Arsenal's depth has looked impressive throughout the summer. New arrival Christos Tzolis, signed for £34 million from Club Brugge, made an instant impact in that Girona fixture, while Dowman continued the trajectory that made him one of the Premier League's most-discussed young players last season.

Real Betis - Recent Form

Real Betis arrive in Dublin having won 4 of their last 5 pre-season friendlies, headlined by an emphatic 4-0 rout of Lyon on 29 July - a result that signalled the Seville club's genuine ambitions as they prepare for a return to the Champions League.

Pellegrini's squad opened their pre-season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sportfreunde Lotte on 18 July, then followed with a 1-0 win over Recreativo Huelva on 22 July. The Lyon demolition on 29 July was the standout result of the summer so far, before a narrow 1-0 defeat to Granada CF on 25 July provided a brief reminder that consistency is still being refined. Betis closed that block of fixtures with a 1-0 win over Almeria on 1 August, arriving at the Aviva Stadium in positive form.

There have been minimal changes to the squad over the summer, meaning the core group that earned Champions League qualification remains intact. Players such as Pablo Fornals and Héctor Bellerín bring experience and technical quality, while the settled nature of Pellegrini's group could prove an advantage as Betis navigate a first campaign among Europe's elite in nearly 20 years.

Facts and Statistics

Arsenal and Real Betis are two clubs with proud, lengthy histories - the Gunners have been an ever-present in English football's top flight since 1919, while Betis, founded in 1907, are one of Spain's oldest clubs. Despite that collective weight of tradition, Wednesday's game in Dublin represents the first time these two storied institutions have shared a pitch.

• This is the first ever meeting between Arsenal and Real Betis in any competition - official or friendly.
• Arsenal won the 2025-26 Premier League title, their first in 22 years, making them England's reigning champions heading into 2026-27.
• Real Betis qualified for the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League by finishing fifth in La Liga - a feat the club had not achieved in almost 20 years.
• Arsenal reached the 2026 Champions League final in Budapest, losing to PSG on penalties (1-1 after extra time, 4-3 on pens).
• The Aviva Stadium previously hosted Arsenal in a friendly against Chelsea in 2018 (1-1) and in a Europa League win over Dundalk in 2020 (4-2).