Arsenal stumbled to a pre-season defeat against Villarreal in front of their home supporters at the Emirates Stadium. They chased the game throughout as their former winger, Nicolas Pepe, gave the Spanish visitors the lead before Karl Etta Eyong doubled the advantage.
Summer signing Christian Norgaard pulled one back with a header from a corner, with Arnaut Danjuma restoring the two-goal cushion before Martin Odegaard converted a spot-kick won by the electric Max Dowman. Here, Express Sport takes you through how each Arsenal player performed on the day…
Arsenal player ratings vs Villarreal (4-3-3)
David Raya: 6 (Kepa, 63)
Made a decent reaction save before Karl Etta Eyong tapped in the rebound for Villarreal’s second.
Ben White: 6 (Mosquera, 46)
Dangerous overlapping run created a good chance for Arsenal in the first half.
William Saliba: 6 (Timber, 63)
Very quiet outing for the Frenchman.
Jakub Kiwior: 3 (Gabriel, 63)
Shambolic defending for Villarreal’s opener when Pepe tapped in from close range. Kiwior was also the man closest to the goal line when Etta Eyong converted the visitors’ second. He then got nutmegged by Pepe on the halfway line for good measure.
Myles Lewis-Skelly: 7 (Zinchenko, 76)
Showed his strength during one-on-one duels with Pepe and made a couple of powerful runs forward. But his passing wasn’t always spot on and Pepe did have some joy.
Ethan Nwaneri: 6 (Rice, 63)
A handful of nice turns and touches but wasn’t overly influential. Attempted a poor shot and produced a sub-par free-kick delivery in the first half.
Christian Norgaard: 7 (Zubimendi, 46)
Fairly anonymous until he popped up at the back post with a well-taken header from Gabriel Martinelli’s corner.
Mikel Merino: 7
Made a lively start to the game. Put a cross directly on Bukayo Saka’s head but he couldn’t nod into an empty net. Also made an athletic interception to start an Arsenal attack high up the pitch.
Bukayo Saka: 6 (Dowman, 63)
Missed an open goal even though the header was an awkward one. Tested the goalkeeper with a cutback and shot and started to pull some strings for a period early in the game but not his best overall.
Viktor Gyokeres: 5 (Odegaard, 63)
Made plenty of runs that weren’t found but he also must accept some blame for a disappointing showing. Got bodied off the ball and gave away a free-kick out of frustration. His only decent chance was fired straight at the keeper from a narrow angle.
Gabriel Martinelli: 6 (Madueke, 76)
Didn’t offer enough aside from an excellent corner delivery which was headed in by Norgaard.
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Cristhian Mosquera: 6
Fans got a taste of his athleticism, but unfortunately it was as he sprinted back to unsuccessfully try and prevent Danjuma’s goal.
Martin Zubimendi: 6
Not a huge amount for supporters to sink their teeth into.
Jurrien Timber: 6
Half an hour’s work in the legs but not much more to report.
Max Dowman: 8
Another exciting cameo. Beat a few bodies cutting in from the right before dragging a shot wide. Then a clever trick won Arsenal a penalty, which Odegaard converted.
Gabriel Magalhaes: 5
Caught on his heels for Danjuma’s goal.
Martin Odegaard: 7
The team improved with their captain on the pitch and his penalty was converted brilliantly.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 5
Maybe it’s over-critical but he may have felt he could have done something to stop Danjuma’s shot hitting the net.
Declan Rice: 6
His introduction was greeted by a massive cheer but he didn’t offer much to change the course of the game.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: N/A
A late addition.
Noni Madueke: N/A
A late addition.