Player ratings: Arsenal 1-0 AC Milan

Goalkeeper

David Raya – 6
Solid but largely untested. Distributed well from the back when called upon.

Defenders

Ben White – 8
Excellent on the right flank. Linked effectively with Saka and created overloads.

William Saliba – 7
Calm and composed, kept Milan’s attack in check.

Riccardo Calafiori – 7
A promising performance, aggressive in duels.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6
Played his usual inverted role but struggled occasionally with Milan counters.

Midfielders

Ethan Nwaneri – 7.5
Showed maturity and creativity. A standout performance from the teenager. TalkSPORT labelled it ‘pressure on Odegaard’.

Christian Nørgaard – 7
Neat and tidy on his first appearance. Kept things simple in midfield.

Declan Rice – 6.5
Marshalled the midfield without much flair, but reliable as ever.

Forwards

Bukayo Saka – 8
Man of the Match. Scored the winner and caused problems to Milan’s defence throughout.

Kai Havertz – 6
Struggled to influence the game. Subbed off late in the second half.

Gabriel Martinelli – 5
Worked hard but lacked the cutting edge. Substituted at half-time.

Substitutes

Kepa Arrizabalaga – 7
Came on after half-time. Made three penalty saves in the shootout despite Arsenal losing 6–5.

Martin Zubimendi – 7.5 
Confident second-half cameo – good forward passing.

Leandro Trossard – 7
Brought energy and forced a late save.

Max Dowman – 7.5
Impressive 15-year-old debut. Full of composure and skill in limited minutes.

Martin Ødegaard, Reiss Nelson, Mikel Merino, Josh Nichols, Marli Salmon – 6
Solid but unspectacular cameos.

Summary

It was a confident performance overall, with Arsenal’s youngsters especially impressing. Saka was the standout, but Nwaneri’s performance could give Arteta something to think about ahead of the new season.

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