William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes both scored as Arsenal continued their impressive pre-season with a 2-0 win over Olympique Lyon.
After the two-goal victory, Martin Odegaard lifted the Emirates Cup and although it’s not the silverware they had their eyes set on, they will hope it will be good practice come the later stages of the season.
Here are five things we have learnt from Arsenal’s 2-0 victory against Lyon at the Emirates…
Arsenal’s set-piece threat will not disappear
At times last season, Arsenal may not have been at their fluid best but they could normally count on set pieces to give them a slight advantage over opponents, scoring 20 in the Premier League last campaign. That looks to be no different heading into 2024/25.
Mikel Arteta’s side scored their two goals from corners, with Declan Rice’s deliveries causing too many problems for Lyon’s sorry defence. His cross for Saliba’s opener was more a fizzed ball in, while Gabriel pounced on Lucas Perri’s struggles to claim a lofted corner to head in a second. The variety of free-kicks and corners will keep opponents on their toes and provide another threat to Arsenal’s attack approach.
Declan Rice is back to his best
Rice had a difficult summer with England at times, especially in the Three Lions’ final defeat to Spain but on his first start since that 2-1 loss he was dominant. He set up the two goals but beyond that, he was aggressive in the way he won the ball back and carried Arsenal forward.
He looked a lot more assured on the ball and was aware of when to find a pass or when to keep it, something that was lacking at times when he was playing in Germany during the summer. Despite a pre-season game, he was also keen to not make standards drop, pushing his teammates and demanding focus on the rare occasion they were sloppy.
Former Premier League players fail to impress
Lyon were no test for Arsenal, from the start Arteta’s side were rampant with their press and the tempo seemed too difficult for the French side to handle. Even when the game’s pace slightly slowed down, Lyon seemed to struggle to create any sort of opening.
Within their squad was the two-time Premier League-winning midfielder Nemanja Matic, who at the age of 36 couldn’t be the enforcer that was seen at Chelsea and Manchester United. Ainsley Maitland-Niles got a warm response when he was announced but was quickly left to deal with waves and waves of attack and he couldn’t leave a mark of regret on Arteta for selling him.
Riccardo Calafiori’s composed Emirates opener
Arsenal fans finally got to see their new defender in action. A lot had been said about his arrival with excitement brewing at the thought of Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori and Jurrien Timber all able to play at centre-back, but in his opening moments of his Arsenal career, he operated as a left-back. It wasn’t a show-stopping start but he was keen to join attacks and was also comfortable joining in the press.
But as his short cameo went on he moved central and played alongside Jakub Kiwior looking unfazed and willing to move wide to offer an option on the ball. His eagerness to always think forward will only strengthen Arsenal’s front-footed approach and his versatility will again give Arteta ways to approach matches in different manners depending on the problems facing them.
Eddie Nketiah’s future is still a mystery
Since Arsenal’s opening pre-season game against Bournemouth, Nketiah hasn’t started a game. He has been subbed on for the others, but made little impact. For their final game today, he had to sit and watch on from the bench, even through seven changes and he stayed sat. He was the most senior outfield player of the 13 substitutes not to get on, only adding to the fuel that he might be moving on from Arsenal.
Arteta tried to keep hush on the rumours in his post-match press conference but even then it looks as if he is not a favoured part of the Spaniard’s plan moving on, as he tries to plot out a plan to dethrone a rampant Manchester City in the Premier League.
