Arsenal pre-season advise: Who has impressed? What have we realized?

Saving the accurate for remaining, Arsenal concluded their preparations for the 2025-26 season with a cosy 3-0 triumph over Spanish facet Athletic Bilbao within the Emirates Cup on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners had to be affected person for the first-half of breakthrough, but fancy London buses, two targets quickly came at as soon as for Mikel Arteta‘s facet, as Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka struck sooner than Kai Havertz attach the cherry on top.

Slaying Ernesto Valverde’s facet became as soon as the accurate warmth-up for subsequent weekend’s blockbuster Premier League opener with Manchester United, and there were significant talking aspects of the lawful diversity from Saturday’s showdown.

Here, Sports activities Mole looks at what we have realized from Arsenal’s 3-0 salvage over Athletic.

Arsenal 3-0 Athletic: Viktor Gyokeres can head a soccer

As well as questions surrounding whether or not he can even successfully transition from a counter-attacking crew to a possession-heavy facet, one of the most most criticism levelled at Gyokeres became as soon as his supposed aerial weaknesses.

The Sweden global did not rating a single header within the 2024-25 season for Wearing Lisbon, and he simplest obtained 0.59 aerials per sport, inserting him within the underside 6% of strikers when when put next with these within the cease five European leagues.

However, Gyokeres’s two golden probabilities on Saturday came by technique of his head, and one in all them ended up within the aid of the accumulate, as he expertly instructed in Arsenal’s first with a aesthetic flick into the a long way top nook.

Gyokeres became as soon as then inches faraway from an aerial brace, simplest for his subsequent are trying to strike the woodwork, but the 27-365 days-outmoded has indubitably already silenced one of the most most doubters.

Arsenal 3-0 Athletic: Martin Zubimendi is the exact deal

As expected, the first-replace trio of Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice started in midfield on Saturday, and the customary showed exactly why Arsenal paid quite over the prospects to lift him to North London.

For these followers who fancy a lawful statistic – of Zubimendi’s first 30 touches, 25 of them were passes, and the Spain global misplaced lawful two balls to his teammates all night time long.

Furthermore, five of Zubimendi’s six long pass makes an are trying came off, he obtained four of his five ground duels, and he also remodeled the blueprint kick that saw Arsenal salvage the penalty shootout.

The customary True Sociedad man ought to be getting accustomed to his unusual teammates and unusual supervisor’s style, but the early indicators are extremely promising indeed.

Arsenal 3-0 Athletic: Significant inclusions and absentees

Whereas the avid gamers on the pitch stole the spotlight, a notice on some of individuals who did not develop the matchday squad, individuals who’re seemingly edging closer to an Emirates exit.

Reis Nelson and Albert Sambi Lokonga were included within the matchday squad, even supposing neither made it onto the self-discipline, while Fabio Vieira and Karl Hein were each omitted from Arteta’s selection.

Stuttgart and West Ham United are judicious in competitors for Vieira, who is surplus to requirements in North London, while a permanent sale for Estonian goalkeeper Hein is likely too.

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