Singapore Festival of Football 2025 is here, and it begins with a clash between two of Europe’s biggest teams: AC Milan and Arsenal FC.
Ahead of the match at National Stadium, we look at the situation for both teams—how last season went for them, and how they are preparing for the new season.
AC Milan
It’s been a difficult season for both Milan teams, but especially so for the team in red.
Though Stefano Pioli took AC Milan back to the top in the 2021–22 season, it was clear that a refresh was needed by 2024. Last season was supposed to be the start of a new era under incoming manager Paulo Fonseca—he did not even last the year.
Sérgio Conceição came in as his replacement for the second half of the season, but even though AC Milan had a strong finish, losing the Coppa Italia final to Bologna and missing out on European competition for the upcoming season ultimately meant that he, too, could not keep his job. For the 2025-2026 season, Milan have made a return for Massimiliano Allegri – a sensible appointment considering his familiarity with the Italian league.
So, it is another season of rebuild for AC Milan, and they have a massive one on their hands. They will start the season without their influential midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who has since departed for Manchester City. Likewise, vice-captain Theo Hernandez has also joined Al Hilal in this season’s Summer transfer window.
But there are signs of promise. Luka Modrić was recently revealed to be joining AC Milan. Though the Croatian midfielder may be approaching 40, he still has very much to offer given how he still performs for Real Madrid and the Croatian national team. Most importantly, Milan will be adding someone with leadership and experience at the highest level, which will no doubt be useful for the upcoming season.
He, unfortunately, won’t be appearing here in Singapore against Arsenal; he’ll formally join in August following his exploits in the Club World Cup. But fans will get to see another new signing in Samuele Ricci. The young Italian midfielder is not the one filling the void for Reijnders, but rather, operates as a more defensively-minded midfielder.
Instead, that role is expected to go to Ardon Jashari from Club Brugge. The technically-gifted midfielder was voted Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year at the Pro League Awards, registering double digits for goal contributions—AC Milan are currently hunting for his signature. More incomings are also expected before Milan begins their season in earnest. The club are nearing an agreement with Brighton & Hove Albion over the transfer of Pervis Estupinan, who is likely to come as Theo Hernandez’s replacement.
One thing that AC Milan has to work on is their defensive performance. Under Conceição, the team were only able to keep three clean sheets in 22 league matches—AC Milan’s defenders were simply too inconsistent, with Fikayo Tomori particularly culpable despite his usually reliable performances. Much of the same can be said for the midfield. The club has yet to find a proper successor to Sandro Tonali, who left in 2023; someone who can combine steel with precision in passing.
Despite the disappointing season, there were still positives to be had. Christian Pulisic had his most productive season of his career, contributing 17 goals and 12 assists across all competitions. Given that he opted to miss the USMNT’s Gold Cup run, the rest will do him well to make an impact for the upcoming season. Mike Maignan also seems set to stay at the club after rumours that Chelsea were after him.
With those positives and the return of Allegri, AC Milan will hope to be more organised and consistent for the 2025-2026 season.
Arsenal FC
What began as a season of hope turned into a whimper for the Gunners.
Arsenal were thought to be on the up and up following two second-place finishes, and last season was seen to be the one that would finally see them pip Manchester City to the Premier League title. City did indeed regress spectacularly in the league, but Arsenal did not take advantage. Instead, they barely gave a fight as Liverpool easily clinched their 20th league title.
The October and November matches proved to be a crucial point in Arsenal’s season—their four-match winless run starting with the loss against Bournemouth caused them to lose major ground in the league. Draws were also the bane of Arsenal, with the team unable to capitalise on Liverpool dropping points against Newcastle and Fulham after stalemates of their own.
A big reason for their slump was because they lacked bite; they simply could not kill teams off. A striker was something that Arsenal massively needed ahead of last season—Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz were never prolific goalscorers. However, they opted not to sign anyone after long-time target Benjamin Šeško signed a contract extension with RB Leipzig. It was a gamble that unfortunately did not pay off. Injuries to Jesus, Havertz, and star player Bukayo Saka ultimately exacerbated an already existing problem.
For this upcoming season, Arsenal are looking to right their wrongs. As of writing, they are on the verge of an agreement with Sporting CP on the transfer for Viktor Gyökeres, one of Europe’s most lethal strikers. He has scored 54 goals in all competitions in just 52 appearances, and Arsenal fans will be hoping that he brings that form over to the Premier League.
While Gyökeres is yet to put pen to paper, Arsenal have already confirmed the recent transfer of Noni Madueke from Chelsea. It is an interesting recruitment for Arsenal – on one hand, the reported £48.5 million transfer fee seems high for a player who has blown hot and cold for the Blues. But Madueke gives Arsenal options. He’s able to cover for Saka on the right should he be unavailable for games, but also, he has experience on the left side as well, giving Mikel Arteta some tactical flexibility for games.
Arsenal’s other transfers are more what we had expected. Long-time target Martin Zubimendi finally joins the club from Real Sociedad, and so does Christian Nørgaard from Brentford. Both players will fill the vacuum left by the departures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho, with Zubimendi’s ability to break lines and progress the ball further up the pitch seen as something that would provide a different dimension to the team.
We won’t see Madueke and Gyökeres during Arsenal’s time in Singapore, but with the arrival of Zubimendi and the return to fitness of Kai Havertz, we may witness how Arsenal intends to break down teams in a different way for this upcoming season.
Arsenal FC vs AC Milan
🗓️Date: 23 July 2025
📍Location: National Stadium, 1 Stadium Dr, Singapore 397629
⏰Time: 7.30 pm
For tickets to the match as well as other events during Singapore Festival of Football 2025, visit the Ticketek Singapore website to purchase them.
Visuals courtesy of Singapore Festival of Football.
