Arsenal take on FC Utrecht in their fourth pre-season friendly this evening. Here are 10 facts that you may not know about our next opponents.
- FC Utrecht were formed in 1970 after a merger between the three professional football clubs of the city - DOS, Velox and Elinkwijk.
- After the merger FC Utrecht have always played in the Dutch Premier League. Their best finish was third in 1980/81 and their worst was 15th in 1974, 1994 and 1996.
- Their stadium is called the new Galgenwaard. The old Galgenwaard was built in 1936 as a multi-sports venue for the city but was torn down in 1981. The new stadium opened in 1982 and holds 25,000.
- There was a myth that public executions used to take place on the stadium site but this is unproven and it is more likely that the site was used for agriculture.
- The FC Utrecht head coach is called Foeke Booy. He played for Club Brugge in the early 90s.
- FC Utrecht have regularly qualified for the UEFA Cup but have never got past the second round.
- They play in red shirts, white shorts and white socks and their mascot is a tiger.
- Ex-Rangers striker Michael Mols played for Utrecht before moving to Glasgow. He has now returned to the club.
- The city of Utrecht is in the heart of Holland in the Randstad area and is the communications and infrastructural capital of the Netherlands. It has a population of 1.16 million.
- Marco van Basten, one of the most famous and talented footballers of the Dutch European Championship winning side, was born in Utrecht on October 31, 1964.
