Arsenal’s pre-season meeting with Real Betis at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, represented a first-ever encounter between the two clubs. Betis arrived after an impressive 2025/26 campaign in which they finished fifth in LaLiga, reached the quarter-finals of both the Copa del Rey and UEFA Europa League, and secured qualification for the Champions League for the first time since 2005/06.
The Spanish club also brought considerable Premier League familiarity to Dublin. Former Arsenal right-back Héctor Bellerín was part of the Betis squad, while Pablo Fornals, Antony, Diego Llorente and Giovani Lo Celso all had previous experience in England. At the centre of the team was captain Isco, while Manuel Pellegrini continued his long tenure as head coach after guiding Betis to the 2022 Copa del Rey and the 2025 Europa Conference League final.
Real Betis: a century of history in Seville
Real Betis’ roots go back to 1907, when students founded a club called Sevilla Balompié.
The organisation adopted the name Real Betis Balompié in 1914, beginning the identity that has since become synonymous with the green-and-white colours of Seville.
Betis’ greatest domestic league achievement came in the 1934/35 season, when they won their only LaLiga title, finishing one point ahead of Real Madrid.
The club’s history has subsequently included periods of both success and instability, including several relegations. Betis finally returned to the top flight by winning the Segunda División in 2014/15 and have remained in LaLiga since.
Their Copa del Rey record provides another major part of the club’s history.
Betis have won the competition three times, most recently in 2022, when they defeated Valencia on penalties.
A club with European ambitions
The modern Betis has increasingly become a regular participant in European competition.
Pellegrini has guided the club into European football in each of his first five seasons in charge, including the memorable run to the 2025 Europa Conference League final.
Betis ultimately lost that final 4-1 to Chelsea in Wrocław, Poland, but reaching the final demonstrated how far the club had progressed under Pellegrini.
The 2025/26 season took another important step forward.
Betis’ 2025/26 season: fifth in LaLiga and back in the Champions League
Betis finished fifth in LaLiga with 60 points, earning qualification for the following season’s UEFA Champions League.
It represents a major return to Europe’s elite competition.
The club’s last Champions League campaign came in 2005/06, when Betis were drawn into a demanding group containing Liverpool, Chelsea and Anderlecht.
They ultimately finished third in the group.
More than two decades later, the Champions League is returning to the Betis calendar.
| Competition | 2025/26 Betis result |
|---|---|
| LaLiga | 5th, 60 points |
| Copa del Rey | Quarter-finals |
| Europa League | Quarter-finals |
| Champions League qualification | Secured through fifth-place LaLiga finish |
That combination makes Betis a particularly interesting pre-season opponent for Arsenal. The club is preparing not merely for another domestic campaign, but for a return to the highest level of European club football.
Manuel Pellegrini’s long Betis reign
Few figures are more important to modern Real Betis than Manuel Pellegrini.
The Chilean coach took charge in 2020 and quickly established a level of consistency that had been difficult for Betis to sustain historically.
His second season brought the club’s first major trophy of the era: the 2022 Copa del Rey.
Betis defeated Valencia in a penalty shootout to claim their third Copa del Rey title.
Pellegrini then took the club to another major European final in 2025, reaching the Europa Conference League final before Chelsea won 4-1.
His career also makes him familiar to English football audiences.
Pellegrini’s Premier League record
Pellegrini managed Manchester City from 2013 to 2016, winning the Premier League title and two League Cups.
His City side won the 2013/14 Premier League championship with 102 goals, becoming one of the most entertaining attacking teams in the competition during that period.
He later returned to England with West Ham United, managing the club from 2018 to 2019.
His experience across Spain, England and European competition has made him one of the most established managers in Betis’ modern history.
The Betis squad has plenty of familiar faces
One of the most interesting aspects of the Arsenal-Betis meeting was the number of players with connections to English football.
Héctor Bellerín returns to Arsenal territory
Héctor Bellerín is perhaps the most obvious connection.
The Spanish right-back spent nine years with Arsenal and made more than 200 appearances for the club.
His emergence at Arsenal was one of the more memorable aspects of Arsène Wenger’s later teams, particularly because his pace and attacking ability made him one of the Premier League’s most recognisable full-backs.
Facing his former club with Betis therefore gave the Dublin match an additional personal dimension.
Other Premier League connections
Betis’ squad also includes players who have represented several English clubs.
| Player | Betis connection | Previous English club |
|---|---|---|
| Héctor Bellerín | Former Arsenal player | Arsenal |
| Pablo Fornals | Midfielder | West Ham United |
| Antony | Winger | Manchester United |
| Diego Llorente | Defender | Leeds United |
| Giovani Lo Celso | Midfielder | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Cucho Hernández | Forward | Watford |
Cucho Hernández was particularly relevant to Arsenal supporters because he scored against the Gunners during his time at Watford in the 2021/22 campaign.
He finished as Betis’ leading scorer during the 2025/26 season.
Isco remains central to Betis
At 34, Isco continues to play a major creative role for Betis.
The former Real Madrid midfielder is captain and remains responsible for much of the team’s creative direction.
His career has given him extensive experience of elite European football, including Champions League success with Real Madrid.
For Betis, his value is not simply historical. His technical ability and experience remain important as the club prepares to return to the Champions League.
Betis’ summer recruitment
After securing Champions League football, Betis strengthened the squad with three additions for the 2026/27 campaign.
They include:
- Fran García, arriving from Real Madrid;
- Facundo Bernal, an Uruguayan midfielder from Fluminense;
- Diego Conde, a goalkeeper joining on loan from Villarreal.
The additions suggest a squad being built for a demanding schedule.
Champions League football introduces additional matches against high-level European opposition, meaning depth becomes particularly important over the course of a season.
Benito Villamarín is undergoing a transformation
Betis’ traditional home is Estadio Benito Villamarín, one of Spain’s best-known football grounds.
However, supporters are temporarily watching their team elsewhere while renovation work takes place.
The redevelopment is expected to continue until 2028.
During the renovation, Betis are playing at Estadio La Cartuja, a venue capable of holding around 70,000 spectators.
La Cartuja is also an important venue for Spanish international football and hosted matches during Euro 2020, which was played across multiple European cities in 2021 because of the pandemic.
For the Arsenal fixture, however, neither club had home advantage.
Arsenal’s return to Dublin
The Betis match marked Arsenal’s return to Ireland for pre-season football after an eight-year gap.
The Gunners’ previous pre-season trip to Dublin came in 2018, when they played Chelsea.
That match finished 1-1 after Antonio Rüdiger put Chelsea ahead and Alexandre Lacazette equalised in stoppage time.
Arsenal subsequently won the penalty shootout 6-5, converting every one of their spot-kicks.
Two years later, Arsenal returned to Dublin for a competitive Europa League group-stage match against Dundalk.
Arsenal’s 2020 Dublin victory over Dundalk
The Dundalk match was played during the unusual 2020/21 season, when European football was taking place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arsenal won 4-2, with goals from Joe Willock, Folarin Balogun, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny’s memorable long-range strike.
The result completed Arsenal’s perfect record in the Europa League group stage that season, with six wins from six matches.
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Arsenal’s much longer history in Ireland
Arsenal’s relationship with Irish football stretches far beyond the modern era.
The club’s pre-season visits to Ireland include a 6-0 victory over Bohemians at Dalymount Park in 1948.
Arsenal returned to face Bohemians again in 1950 and 1962 before visiting Ireland for matches against Shamrock Rovers and Waterford in 1986.
The Gunners faced Bohemians again in 1989 and Shelbourne in 1992.
The 2026 meeting with Betis therefore continued a relationship between Arsenal and Irish football that goes back generations.
Arsenal and Real Betis meet for the first time
One of the most striking facts about the fixture is how little historical rivalry exists between the two clubs.
Despite Arsenal’s extensive European history and Betis’ regular participation in continental competition during recent seasons, they had never previously played each other before this pre-season meeting.
That makes the Dublin fixture unusual.
Arsenal have developed recurring European relationships with clubs such as Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Betis, meanwhile, have spent much of their European history moving between the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
The first Arsenal-Betis meeting therefore created a new chapter rather than revisiting an established rivalry.
Why Betis were a valuable pre-season test
Betis represented a more meaningful challenge than a typical early pre-season opponent.
They were coming off a fifth-place LaLiga finish and preparing for Champions League football. Their squad contained experienced European players, Premier League veterans and emerging talent.
Pellegrini also provided an experienced tactical opponent.
For Arsenal, the fixture offered an opportunity to test their preparation against a team accustomed to controlling possession and competing technically in Spain.
For Betis, facing Arsenal offered a useful examination before a season in which European competition would significantly raise the intensity of their schedule.
From Seville to Dublin: two clubs at different stages
The most interesting element of the fixture was perhaps the direction in which the two clubs were travelling.
Arsenal entered the summer with the expectations that accompany an established Premier League giant and regular Champions League participant.
Betis entered it after earning a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2005/06.
That difference matters.
For Arsenal, European football at the highest level is part of the club’s normal competitive environment. For Betis, returning to the Champions League represents a significant milestone in the Pellegrini era.
Yet both clubs share an ambition to turn strong domestic performances into meaningful European campaigns.
A pre-season match with genuine European context
The Arsenal-Betis meeting may have been a friendly, but the circumstances surrounding it made it more revealing than the label suggests.
Betis had just achieved their best league position in years and secured Champions League football. Pellegrini remained at the helm, Isco continued to lead the team and the club had begun strengthening its squad for a demanding European schedule.
Arsenal, meanwhile, were using the match as part of their preparations for another season of high-level domestic and continental football.
The most important story was therefore not simply who won in Dublin.
It was the meeting of an established English contender with a Spanish club beginning a new Champions League chapter—and a fixture that, despite having no previous history between the teams, immediately acquired several personal connections through Bellerín, Pellegrini and the players with Premier League experience.
The first Arsenal-Betis encounter consequently served as more than a pre-season exercise. It introduced two clubs to one another while placing Betis’ resurgence under Pellegrini into the wider context of European football.