Three observations from our last pre-season game against Sevilla
by Nonny
Arsenal had fantastic pre-season games and the players and fans are very excited about the upcoming season. Arsenal pounced on Sevilla with four goals in 18 minutes to win the Emirates Cup on Saturday afternoon and heighten enthusiasm for the upcoming Premier League season.Bukayo Saka scored in the 10th minute on a cool penalty he earned after a sloppy tackle in the back from Karim Rekik, with Martin Odegaard playing a key role in generating the opportunity. Gabriel Jesus extended the advantage three minutes later with a close-range poacher’s goal following good work from Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka. With less than a quarter-hour gone, Jesus grabbed onto a whipped cross from Martinelli to push past goalkeeper Bono and send the Emirates into a frenzy. Saka pounced on some sloppy passing by the visitor defence to score his second goal with only 19 minutes on the clock, adding to Arsenal’s happiness and Sevilla’s misery. 1. Gabriel Jesus lit up the Emirates on his first home appearance in Arsenal colours Gabriel Jesus lit up the Emirates Stadium with another two-goal performance while playing for Arsenal against Sevilla. This came after Jesus had previously scored four goals in his debut pre-season as an Arsenal player. The Brazilian player looks every bit the part of the No. 9 position that the Gunners were desperate to fill during the last campaign, and he has a good chance of becoming the driving force behind Arsenal’s push to qualify for the Champions League this season. He was in the right location at the right time to score his first goal and combined with Gabriel Martinelli to score his second. Jesus accomplished his hat-trick with another opportune goal in the 77th minute. Mikel Arteta couldn’t have asked for more from Jesus on his Emirates debut, and the £45m paid to Manchester City may prove to be a bargain once the season starts. 2. A back-three hint Mikel Arteta’s defence contributed to Arsenal’s overwhelming win against Sevilla. William Saliba was flanked by Benjamin White and Gabriel versus Sevilla. Arsenal’s back-three formation enabled Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko to flourish as wing-backs despite Sevilla’s offensive flair. Arteta utilised a four-man defence last season, but he may ponder whether the configuration he used versus Sevilla may be the best for his first-choice XI. 3. Odegaard pulls on the armband – and pulls the strings Martin Odegaard was named Arsenal’s new captain before the Emirates Cup. He also captains Norway. The 23-year-old playmaker is the logical heir to Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Odegaard played his usual No. 10 position and was lively against Sevilla. He played a key part in Bukayo Saka’s opening goal, setting up the Englishman with a precise pass. The new Gunners captain will be pleased with the way his colleagues persistently harassed Sevilla and drove them into blunders. The Norwegian looks every inch of a leader on the pitch.Nonny
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