Arsenal faced Lyon in their final pre-season friendly of the summer, winning 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
First half goals from William Saliba and Gabriel sealed a comfortable victory, while there was excitement in the second half as Riccardo Calafiori played in Arsenal colours for the first time.
The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell breaks down some of the key points from the game.
Arsenal’s set-piece threat is as big as ever
If Lyon arrived at the Emirates expecting a peaceful afternoon, the arrival of Arsenal’s two centre back giants for the seventh corner of the first half sure spoiled that notion.
Mikel Arteta does not do half measures. Arsenal pressed like demons and they executed their corner kick plans with military focus.
🎶 Du du du du du du du du 🎶
Don’t forget the game is LIVE on https://t.co/4KJlfKW7rt, Gooners 👇
🔴 1-0 ⚫️ (15)
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 11, 2024
Declan Rice took a couple of deliveries to get his eye in but once he did, William Saliba and Gabriel both headed home courtesy of smart routines which dragged everyone to the front area.
For rival teams hoping set piece coach Nico Jover had enjoyed a summer off, it appears that he has in fact spent it plotting more elaborate schemes.
🏁 Back underway in the Emirates Cup…
Don’t miss the second-half action on https://t.co/4KJlfKW7rt 📺
Let’s keep this going, Gunners ✊
🔴 2-0 ⚫️ (46)
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 11, 2024
Welcome: Riccardo Calafiori
He looks like a movie star and the Italian received a rousing reception befitting of one when he made his debut in front of his home fans.
It has been a careful introduction to Arsenal for the Italian defender but he played the final half an hour, which will help get him up to speed and adapt to his new team.
As Arsenal’s big buy of the summer, the excitement around Calafiori following his classy performances at Euro 2024 was palpable.
He already has a pair of songs about him that were belted out and he played with the calmness of someone completely at ease despite the spotlight being on him.
While it was not a long stint, he came on at left back and later moved inside to left centre back in a back four once Miles Lewis-Skelly came on.
That will accelerate his understanding of the system even if he did not have much to do defensively. He pressed aggressively and showed his composure when he plucked a long ball out of the air with two Lyon attackers at his back.
(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
The midfield conundrum that Arteta still needs to solve
It was the midfield trio that finished the last five league games of last season: Partey, Rice and Odegaard.
Could it be here to stay?
The Ghanaian missed the vast majority of last season with injury, which is why it took until late April for him to come into the base of midfield.
Arteta strives for the perfect balance but has yet to quite find it with Arsenal’s pursuit of Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino a sign that he believes there are gains still to be made in the department.
Will Declan Rice feature more as a No 6 or No 8 this season? (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
It is why the option of Partey has perhaps been forgotten but Arteta never had the chance to pair both of them together at the start of the season.
Against Lyon they were able to overpower the middle of the pitch and allow Odegaard freedom to drift.
Their physical presence as a duo elevates Arsenal but does it make them more secure compared to when Jorginho plays as a six or Kai Havertz plays as a left eight with Rice deeper?
It is a question of trust and, while Arenal had almost complete control against Lyon, there were a couple of occasions where Lyon were able to counter after Partey had given the ball away and left a gap to exploit.
Has Bukayo Saka added a new weapon to his, er, Arsenal?
When you think of the England winger you think of him cutting inside onto his left and curling a shot into the far corner, or even his new trademark finish on his right foot high into the near post.
But against Lyon, did we see a sneak preview of the latest tool in his arsenal? The back post header.
Three times he was found with an inswinging cross after timing his run late to rise above the full-back.
Twice he produced a spring that Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of in his prime — but he did not use the air time efficiently, skewing both attempts wide.
(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
However, it looked like a deliberate ploy and, as each season has proven, he comes back with a new way of beating his previous goals tally.
With only a handful of his 58 goals coming from headers, a significant improvement in that department could be the next lever pulled in his development.
In the final months of last season, the Brazilian found himself playing second fiddle to Leandro Trossard most weeks as inconsistency saw his levels drop off compared to the previous campaign.
When Martinelli is at his best he can torment full-backs with his pace and directness but the other side of the coin is that there is far more waste and variability in his game than Saka on the opposite flank.
Against Lyon he played with verve and boundless energy as usual. There appeared to be an attempt to simplify his take-on style with Martinelli shifting the the ball once and delivering rather than chopping and changing direction which can sometimes allow the opposition to crowd him out.
(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Trossard may be more efficient in his decision-making but the hope is that this will come in time with Martinelli, who, it should be remembered, only turned 23 in June.
What he has that no other attacker in Arsenal’s ranks does is blistering pace and a threat on the break. He was played clean through twice by Odegaard and Havertz but the first time his touch took him wide and with the second opportunity he tried to cut across the last man but was muscled out of it.
If he can be more decisive in these moments then he will restore a lethal counter attacking threat to Arsenal’s attacking menu.
What did Mikel Arteta say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Arsenal?
Saturday, August 17: Wolverhampton Wanderers (H), Premier League, 3pm BST, 10am ET
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(Top photo: Getty Images)
