Player ratings: Arsenal 2-3 Villarreal

Arsenal suffered back-to-back pre-season defeats with a 3-2 loss at home to Villarreal on Wednesday evening. The Gunners fell two goals behind when Villarreal converted twice from close range on the break. Cristian Norgaard nodded in his first Arsenal goal from a corner to bring it to 1-2 before the break. In the second half, […]

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Arsenal suffered back-to-back pre-season defeats with a 3-2 loss at home to Villarreal on Wednesday evening.

The Gunners fell two goals behind when Villarreal converted twice from close range on the break. Cristian Norgaard nodded in his first Arsenal goal from a corner to bring it to 1-2 before the break.

In the second half, Arsenal were dominant, but still left the door ajar on the break. Villarreal punished us ruthlessly by scoring a third against the run of play. 15-year-old Max Dowman again stole the show from the bench, winning a penalty which Martin Odegaard converted to make it 2-3.

Despite 65% possession in the second half and 10 shots, Arsenal probably didn’t do enough to win the game, and clear chance creation remains an issue in this setup.

Arsenal now host Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday evening in their final pre-season test.

Arsenal player ratings

David Raya (off at 63′) – 6

Ben White (off at 45′) – 6

William Saliba (off at 63′) – 6

Jakub Kiwior (off at 63′) – 5

Myles Lewis-Skelly (off at 77′) – 5 – In truth, a poor pre-season from Myles. We could do with Calafiori being fit to ensure we have an alternative if Myles is not at his best. He was tidy on the ball today (34/36) but defensively poor.

Cristian Norgaard (off at 45′) – 8 – Scored and was very good at the base, completing all his (20) passes and solid defensively.

Mikel Merino – 5 – Moved to ST for the last 30 minutes, struggled to have an influence.

Ethan Nwaneri (off at 63′) – 8 – Strong showing from Ethan in a central role. Encouraging, trying to get on the ball more and make something happen, with 39 touches and 5 completed dribbles.

Bukayo Saka (off at 63′) – 6 – We need to see more from Bukayo – hopefully he is holding a bit back for the real season.

Viktor Gyokeres (off at 63′) – 6 – Quiet in terms of touches, can tell he needs to build some relationships with his teammates, but looks strong on the dribble (2/2) and got a good shot away in the second half. Hopefully he can get another 60 minutes or so under his belt on Saturday.

Gabriel Martinelli (off at 77′) – 5 – Got a lot of the ball today but needs to do more with it. Accurate with just 1 of his 7 crosses and won just 4/12 duels.