FC Barcelona will do something against Arsenal that hasn't been done in 43 years.
FC Barcelona will do something against Arsenal that has not been seen by the Catalans since 1979.
The two sides will meet at the Los Angeles Chargers' SoFi Stadium in a preaseason friendly on Wednesday evening.
After a virus ripped through Xavi Hernandez's first team squad at the weekend causing the club to cancel a planned meeting with Juventus in Santa Clara, California, the fixture will be the Blaugrana's first on their 2023 preseason tour of the United States.
As for their north London opponents, though, Arsenal have already beaten the MLS All-Stars 5-0 Stateside, and lost to Premier
The showdown at the SoFi Stadium will be the pair's eighth encounter since Barca broke Gunners' hearts in Paris in 2006.
Xavi was on the winning team as a player in the Champions League final. A late Juliano Belletti strike sealed a second European cup for a club then led on the pitch by Ronaldinho and current sporting director Deco, and denied Arsenal their maiden triumph in the elite continental competition.
The game set to be held this week will have one marked difference compared to others between them, however, and see Barca do something for the first time in 43 years.
Much to the chagrin of those who protested the use of the main color associated with arch nemesis Real Madrid, Barca will don a new white shirt in California as reported by RAC 1 and other outlets including SPORT.
This hasn't been seen since they faced another English outfit in Ipswich Town, during a Cup Winners Cup quarter-final first leg tie on March 3, 1979.
Barca lost 2-1 on the night. But the swift equalizer Esteban bagged on 54 minutes at Portman Road, before David Geddis completed his brace 10 after, paid dividends.
Through a 1-0 battle at Camp Nou in the return leg, Barca advanced via the now defunct away goals rule and then went on to win the competition by overcoming Fortuna Dusseldorf in Basel, Switzerland.
Barca will hope that the white shirt proves a similar omen again in the modern day, and gives them the good luck needed alongside talent and hard work to become a major force in Europe once more.
The 2006 triumph in Paris against Arsenal in the UCL swept in a golden era that saw them lift the iconic big-eared trophy a further three times in 2009, 2011 and 2015.
There has been little to speak of since they topped Juventus in Berlin in the last of those achievements eight years ago, though, and their past two attempts to go all the way have resulted in embarrassing back-to-back group exits on Xavi's watch.