Arsenal 3 Athletic Club 0: Gyokeres’ first goal, Rice-Zubimendi promise and a new avenue of attack

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Arsenal’s pre-season preparations ended in impressive style as they beat Spanish side Athletic Club 3-0 at the Emirates.

Viktor Gyokeres registered his first goal for the club, which was created by fellow new arrival Martin Zubimendi, with Bukayo Saka also on the scoresheet. Kai Havertz rounded off Arsenal’s evening with an 82nd-minute strike.

There was then a penalty shootout after the match, and Zubimendi was on target to win it for Arsenal (6-5).

Next up for Mikel Arteta’s side is a trip to Manchester United’s Old Trafford on August 17, when they will be attempting to get their Premier League campaign off to a winning start.

Dan Sheldon and Art de Roche break down Arsenal’s performance against the La Liga side.

Gyokeres off the mark

As the Arsenal team was called out over the public address system, the loudest cheer was reserved for Gyokeres, the €63.5million (£54.8m, $74.2m) signing from Sporting CP who Arsenal fans hope will fire the team to the 2025-26 Premier League title.

The 27-year-old’s first start came on Wednesday against Villarreal, but he had to wait until Saturday evening to get off the mark.

He had a tame effort saved by Athletic’s Unai Simon in the 21st minute, but found his head to be more useful as he directed a brilliant cross from Zubimendi past the Spanish goalkeeper.

The loudest cheer, however, came after the ball had rippled the net, with Declan Rice encouraging Gyokeres to pull out his trademark celebration.

He obliged, and the Emirates lapped it up. Gyokeres came close to adding a second goal, with his diving header — from Noni Madueke’s cross — being parried onto the post by Simon.

His goal aside, there was plenty of good link-up play involving Gyokeres, which should please Arteta, and that will only continue to get better as he and his new team-mates become more accustomed to playing with one another.

“I think he pins both centre-backs and he is a player that if you leave him with space one against one, then he is going to destroy you, so he is going to create a lot of space for us,” Arteta said of Gyokeres.

“In any situation, there is a player there that can score a goal. That first goal is always very, very important, and he took it really well.”

Dan Sheldon

A first glimpse of what Zubimendi-Rice-Odegaard can offer

The way Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice dovetailed was particularly promising for Arsenal (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

After months of waiting, Arsenal fans finally got their first real look at a midfield three of Martin Odegaard, Zubimendi and Rice.

The trio played some minutes alongside each other earlier in pre-season, but this was their first start together, and it did not disappoint.

Odegaard kept to his usual pocket of space off the right for the most part, despite his lovely pass for Arsenal’s second goal coming from a more central area.

The dynamic between Rice and Zubimendi was particularly interesting to watch. “We saw another evolution today,” Arteta said, speaking about how the pair complemented each other and were not stuck to rigid positions.

Zubimendi started as the deepest midfielder, but at times Rice was the player to take up that role.

Rice particularly impressed with multiple long passes in behind for Saka, which helped speed up Arsenal’s attacks. His more central positioning also allowed Riccardo Calafiori to excel by pushing wider and further forward.

As for Zubimendi, he was incredibly composed with quick, sharp passes in possession, while also showing the necessary awareness and bite defensively.

The Spain international’s performance was capped off by his whipped assist for Gyokeres, but the interchanging between him and Rice made for good viewing all on its own.

The collective performance of the midfield was promising ahead of the opening day trip to Old Trafford. Add the pre-season performances of Ethan Nwaneri to the mix and Arteta should feel encouraged by his new-look midfield.

Art de Roche

Arsenal’s direct approach is paying off

One of the underlying themes of Arsenal’s pre-season has been more direct attacking play. It was noticeable early on against Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong, and once again against Athletic.

Saka was found by long passes in behind twice in the opening exchanges on Saturday. Both times he brought the ball down with a velvet-like touch before eliminating left-back Inigo Lekue one-versus-one.

For years it has felt like Arsenal do not make the most of space behind defenders when they build up slowly, making this a truly refreshing change of pace.

Saka benefited from this directly for his goal. With the ball bobbling around the centre circle, Odegaard’s cushioned pass in behind freed up Gabriel Martinelli, who laid it off to the England international for an easy finish.

More direct play was expected with the arrival of Gyokeres, who brought genuine excitement whenever he was found galloping into open space. Even though these moments did not end in goals, the signs are positive.

Kai Havertz then seized the moment well when Saka knocked the ball up to the halfway line, where Athletic were left exposed. Running powerfully, Havertz reached the ball first, carried it into the box while holding off a challenge, and finished calmly.

On the more direct approach, Arteta said: “Having threat from all areas of the pitch into the last line is a weapon we need to continue to develop.

“It can be from David (Raya), it can be from the last line, it can be from people playing on the base. Today, we had from many situations a feeling of, ‘Yeah, at any moment we can attack their backs and be very dangerous’, and that will create a lot of space for other players inside.”

Art de Roche

(Top photo: Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

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