Arsenal stumbled upon a preseason defeat against Villarreal in front of his home supporters at Emirates Stadium. The hosts chased the entire game when former winger Nicolas Pepe gave the Spanish visitors the lead and Carl Etta Eion doubled the advantage in 33 minutes.
Summer Signature Christian Norgaard pulled one back into the corner home before halftime. Arnaut Danjuma recovered two goal cushions before Martin Odegaard converted the spot kick that electric Max Dowman won. Here, Express Sports explains how each Arsenal player performed that day…
Arsenal Player Rating vs Villarreal (4-3-3)
David Raya: 6 (Kepa, 63)
I saved a decent response before Etta Eyong was tapped on Villarreal’s second rebound.
Ben White: 6 (Mosquera, 46)
The dangerous overlap run gave Arsenal a good chance in the first half.
William Saliba: 6 (wood, 63)
A very quiet outing for the French.
Jakub Kiwior: 3 (Gabriel, 63)
Shambolic defending for Villarreal’s opener when Pepe taps from close range. Kiwiol was also the closest man to the finish line when Eta Eion transformed the second of the visitors. He then poured a nutmei on Pepe on the middle line for a proper scale.
Miles Lewis Skelly: 7 (Zinchenko, 76)
He showed his strength in a one-on-one duel with Pepe, and advanced several powerful runs. However, his pass was not always a spot, and Pepe had some joy.
Ethan Nuwaneri: 6 (US, 63)
There was a handful of nice turns and touches, but it didn’t have much influence. They attempted a poor shot and produced a sub-pur-free kick delivery in the first half.
Christian Norgaard: 7 (Zubimendi, 46)
He’s pretty anonymous until he pops up in the backpost with a well-touched header from Gabriel Martinelli’s corner.
Mikel Merino: 7
It has inspired the game. He placed the cross directly on Bukayosaka’s head, but he couldn’t nod to the empty net. They also made athletic intercepts to launch an Arsenal attack on the pitch.
Bukayosaka: 6 (Dauman, 63)
Despite the troublesome header, we missed the open goal. I tested the goalkeeper with a cutback, shot and started pulling some strings early in the game, but overall it wasn’t the best.
Viktor Gyokeres: 5 (Odegaard, 63)
Although not found, he must also accept the unfortunate show responsibility. He left his body from the ball and gave him 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)
Aside from the excellent corner delivery led by Norgaard, it didn’t provide enough.
submarine
Christian Mosquera: 6
Fans tasted his athleticism, but unfortunately he sprinted to prevent Danjuma’s goals.
Martin Zubimendi: 6
It’s not enormous that supporters can sink their teeth.
Julien material: 6
It’s a 30 minute work on my legs, but I don’t have much to report.
Max Dowman: 8
Another exciting cameo. Before dragging the shot, hit some of the bodies cut from the right. A clever trick then scored a penalty on Arsenal.
Gabriel Magalges: 5
He got caught up in his heels due to Danjuma’s goal.
Martin Odegaard: 7
The team improved the captain on the pitch, and his penalty was transformed beautifully.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 5
Maybe it’s critical, but he might have felt he could have done something to stop Danjuma’s shot from hitting the net.
Declan Rice: 6
His introduction was greeted with massive cheers, but he didn’t offer much to change the course of the game.
oleksandr zinchenko: n/a
A late addition.
Noni Maduke: n/a
A late addition.
