Emirates Cup

Arsenal first announced their intention to stage a pre-season competition at their home ground, the Emirates Stadium, in March 2007. Managing director Keith Edelman revealed plans were at an exploratory stage, and added: "It would be in pre-season, around late July, and tickets would be reasonably priced. We feel it could be a really exciting event."^[5] Details of the tournament were formally announced on 1 May 2007, with Italian champions Inter Milan, French side Paris Saint-Germain and German outfit Hamburg confirmed as participants.^[6] Hamburg's qualification into the UEFA Intertoto Cup meant they withdrew from the competition; the club was replaced by Spain's Valencia.^[7]

The inaugural Emirates Cup took place on 28 July and 29 July 2007 and was well attended, with over 110,000 people filling the stadium across the two-day tournament.^[8] Each club played two sides; Valencia and Arsenal did not face each other, and Inter did not play against Paris Saint-Germain.^[7] Arsenal won the first tournament, having beaten their French opponents 2–1 and defeated Inter by the same scoreline, courtesy of a late strike by Robin van Persie .^[9] The following year Hamburg made an appearance alongside Real Madrid and Juventus,^[10] and won the tournament as they finished two points clear of second-place Real.^[11]

In 2009, Arsenal welcomed Atlético Madrid, Rangers , and Paris Saint-Germain to the Emirates Cup.^[12] The hosts regained the trophy winning both of their matches and scoring five goals; midfielder Jack Wilshere was twice named man of the match for his performances against Atlético Madrid and Rangers.^[11] Arsenal retained the Emirates Cup in 2010, but failed to top the table in the next three tournaments.^[11] New York Red Bulls, who were captained by former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, won the Emirates Cup in 2011, after beating Paris Saint-Germain and drawing with the hosts.^[13] The tournament did not take place in 2012 due to the ongoing Summer Olympics in London; it was believed that the capital's infrastructure was not able to cater for the extra 100,000 supporters that usually attend the two-day event.^[14] When the Emirates Cup resumed in 2013, Turkish side Galatasaray earned nine points to finish top of the group,^[15] and a year later Valencia became the first Spanish winners of the tournament as the hosts lost their decisive game against Monaco.^[16]

Arsenal claimed their fourth Emirates Cup in 2015;^[17] the competition was held on the final weekend of July.^[18] The hosts scored seven goals in the tournament – six against Lyon, who later became the first team in the competition's history not to score a goal in either of their matches.^[19] Due to the extended schedule of UEFA Euro 2016 and essential pitch reconstruction works at the Emirates Stadium, the Emirates Cup did not take place in the pre-season period of the 2016–17 season.^[20] Two years later, stadium building work meant that once again the tournament did not take place; Arsenal instead played pre-season matches in the International Champions Cup.^[21]

The competition returned in 2019 with Arsenal Women featuring for the first time in the pre-season tournament, where they faced Bayern Munich. In the men's tournament, Lyon defeated Arsenal 2–1 to win their first title.^[22] The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[23]

• Pre-season friendly / invitational tournaments
• Amsterdam Tournament
• Wembley Cup