BUKAYO SAKA handed Arsenal a winning start to their pre-season tour of Singapore.
But their friendly penalty shoot-out at full-time did not go as well – despite debutant Kepa Arrizabalaga saving three – missing FOUR of their nine spot-kicks.
AFPArsenal edged a friendly against AC Milan 1-0, with Bukayo Saka scoring[/caption]
GettyThe Gunners went on to lose a penalty shootout against the Italians[/caption]
The Gunners star bundled home a scruffy 53rd minute goal to see off a below-par AC Milan side at the half-empty Singapore National Stadium.
The game itself was rather tepid and flat, made interesting thankfully by three debutants on show as Christian Norgaard started while Martin Zubimendi and Kepa came off the bench at half time.
Boss Mikel Arteta also handed senior debuts to 15-year-old academy starlets Max Dowman and centre back Marli Salmon – dubbed the next William Saliba.
Despite Arsenal’s win, the two teams still took part in a shoot-out – with Martin Odegaard, Reiss Nelson, Jakub Kiwior having theirs saved and Salmon blazing his over.
Next up for Arsenal is a clash against Newcastle at the same venue on Sunday before flying to Hong Kong on Tuesday ahead of a North London derby versus Tottenham.
Arteta went strong with his first starting line-up of the tour – including a first-choice front three of Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz.
There was a debutant in the starting XI in Norgaard, and full-back Riccardo Calafiori started at centre back with Gabriel and Jurrien Timber left out of the squad, still recovering from knocks picked up towards the end of last campaign.
Ethan Nwaneri also got the chance to start ahead of skipper Martin Odegaard.
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Both Havertz and Nwaneri have certainly bulked up over the past few months, the 18-year-old in particular following his breakthrough season last term.
The teenager – on the verge of signing a new deal – was the brightest of the bunch in the opening 45 minutes with two gorgeous turns on the ball that left his opponent for dead.
GettySaka pounced in the 56th minute to give Arsenal the lead[/caption]
AFPIt was enough to win the game for the Gunners[/caption]
The second turn resulted in a fizzing shot that was tipped behind by Milan keeper Pietro Terracciano.
Arteta will have been pleased to see his right-hand combo of Saka and Ben White shaking off the cobwebs – injuries meant they started just 12 games together in all competitions last season.
Norgaard proved what a nuisance he can be in midfield with a few timely interceptions and tackles, while William Saliba showed off his pace to deny Rafael Leao a breakaway goal.
APNew signing Christian Norgaard started the game[/caption]
ReutersMartin Zubimendi came off the bench for his debut[/caption]
The atmosphere was lacking heading into half-time, but it got its boost soon enough, firstly through some kiss-cam entertainment with the fans, with a lot of Viktor Gyokeres mask celebrations on show on the big screen.
And then Arteta rang the changes with six new faces thrown on, including two more debuts for Zubimendi and Kepa, while Odegaard, Jakub Kiwior, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Leandro Trossard also came on.
Trossard and Kiwior combined to tee up Saka – Polish defender Kiwior whipping a cross to the far post and Saka popping up to finish it.
GettyKepa Arrizabalaga also came off the bench for the Gunners[/caption]
GettyIt was just the start Arsenal wanted to pre-season[/caption]
Arsenal were much more dominant in the second half with fresh legs, and four more soon followed in the 63rd minute in Mikel Merino and three eye-catching youngsters – Dowman, Salmon, both 15, and Josh Nichols, 18.
It meant that three of the back four – Lewis-Skelly, Nichols and Salmon – were academy made.
Dowman’s name has been on the lips of every Arsenal fan since training with the first team last season, and he got his chance in the limelight on the right wing.
One of his first acts on the ball was to cut inside and fire a shot just wide, and minutes later won a foul with some neat trickery.
Merino could have made it 2-0 in the final 15 minutes with a header from a corner that was pushed away by Terracciano and Trossard had a long-range effort tipped over.
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