Arsenal kick off the Premier League season when they travel to the Brentford Community Stadium to play Thomas Frank's newly-promoted side.
The Gunners haven't exactly had the most inspiring of pre-seasons with just two wins in six matches, while transfer business has done little to raise spirits around the Emirates.
Ben White, Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga have all come into the club, but there is still plenty more to do, with a new goalkeeper and creative midfielder high on Edu's to-do list before the window closes on August 31.
On top of that, Arsenal will also want to get some players out of the club, with Sead Kolasinac, Lucas Torreira, Eddie Nketiah and Hector Bellerin just a few of the names to have been linked with an exit.
For now though the main focus is on Brentford, where the Gunners will need to pick up a decent result as they seek to build momentum ahead of a tough double-header of fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester City before the international break.
With that in mind football.london's Arsenal writers have taken a look at who they would pick for the match.
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Arsenal writer
For me, Mikel Arteta has three big decisions to make against Brentford.
The first being how to get the Arsenal functioning in attack and that means putting this Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left-wing experiment to bed once and for all.
Granted, the Gunners captain has not looked great in pre-season and had a pretty poor 2020/21 campaign, but get him playing through the middle and he might just rediscover his goalscoring touch.
Of course, that depends on Aubameyang getting any service.
This is where Arteta has to make his next two big decisions. Bukayo Saka on the left alongside Emile Smith Rowe and Nicolas Pepe behind Aubameyang would bring a better balance and hopefully create more chances.
Getting the ball from midfield to attack quicker is also key and for that reason, summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga has to get the nod over Mohamed Elneny in Thomas Partey's absence.
Deniran-Alleyne's Arsenal XI vs Brentford: Leno; Chambers, White, Holding, Tierney; Lokonga, Xhaka; Pepe, Smith Rowe, Saka; Aubameyang
Kaya Kaynak - Arsenal writer
The fact that Arsenal have let themselves get to the opening day of the season without a back-up goalkeeper is testament to how much of a disappointment this transfer window has been so far, and Mikel Arteta will be crossing his fingers that nothing happens to Bernd Leno between now and August 31.
In front of the German, the absence of Gabriel and the fitness concerns over Rob Holding means Ben White and Pablo Mari more or less pick themselves as centre-backs, while Kieran Tierney is a nailed-on starter to the left of them.
At right-back there is a little more cause for debate, and for me it has to be Calum Chambers given the nod, with Hector Bellerin looking increasingly like a player in need of a fresh start, and Cedric not having shown enough in pre-season.
Contrastingly, Albert Sambi Lokonga has shown enough during his warm-up matches since signing for Anderlecht to suggest that he will be ahead of Mohamed Elneny in the race to replace Thomas Partey.
The lack of incomings at number 10 means Emile Smith Rowe has to play and I have liked what I've seen from Nicolas Pepe this pre-season enough to suggest he deserves the nod on the right.
Over on the left, I worry about the wisdom of playing a left-footer who will want to stay wide, given the attacking runs of Tierney so I'm going to go for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, although I do have my concerns about how uninvolved he is in the game in this position.
Up front, Flo Balogun was a target of Brentford's a few summers back, but this game is probably too soon for him to show exactly why.
With Gabriel Martinelli still in need of a rest after the Olympics with Brazil and Eddie Nketiah out injured, it is Alexandre Lacazette who would start for me after a good pre-season campaign.
Kaynak's Arsenal XI vs Brentford: Leno; Chambers, White, Mari, Tierney; Sambi, Xhaka; Pepe, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang; Lacazette.
Chris Wheatley - Chief Arsenal correspondent
Mikel Arteta already has injury issues to contend with for Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Brentford on Friday.
The absence of Thomas Partey leaves a gap in central midfield which new signing Sambi Lokonga is likely to fill, with Granit Xhaka the most obvious option to start alongside the Belgian international.
Bernd Leno will line up between the sticks but Arsenal are without a preferred back-up to the German after a deal for Sheffield United shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale fell through.
With Hector Bellerin’s future uncertain the obvious choice at right-back to combat any aerial threat would be Calum Chambers, while Ben White will be one of the first names on the team sheet following his excellent performances in pre-season.
Emile Smith Rowe and Nicolas Pepe are expected to support the strike force of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, with Bukayo Saka also a potential option in attack after he made a cameo appearance in the recent friendly defeat to Tottenham.
Wheatley’s Arsenal XI: Leno, Chambers, White, Mari, Tierney, Xhaka, Lokonga, Smith Rowe, Pepe, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
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