Arsenal completed their pre-season preparations in style as they marked their return to Emirates Stadium with a thumping 6-0 win over Sevilla to win the Emirates Cup.
It was the perfect afternoon for Mikel Arteta as his team sent out a message to their Premier League rivals as Gabriel Jesus scored a hat-trick on his first appearance as an Arsenal player, Bukayo Saka scored a brace and Eddie Nketiah added a sixth off the bench to complete the rout.
The Gunners came flying out of the blocks from the first minute and their fast start was rewarded ten minutes in as Bukayo Saka was shoved down in the Sevilla box and the referee pointed too the spot. The youngster stepped up and slotted the ball calmly into the bottom corner to give his side the lead. However, this was just the beginning as only two minutes later, Gabriel Jesus pounced on a loose ball in the opposition penalty area after the ball was crossed low into the box. Just a minute after his first, the Brazilian striker doubled his tally in the game as he poked home Gabriel Martinelli’s cross to make it 3-0 inside the first fifteen minutes. But Arsenal weren’t done there yet as some great pressing led to Sevilla making a mistake at the back and Bukayo Saka smashed home to make it 4-0 before the break, leaving Sevilla completely shellshocked as the returning Emirates crowd roared their approval.
The second half didn’t quite live up to the first but Arsenal didn’t want to settle for 4-0, as Gabriel Jesus claimed a hat-trick on his first Emirates Stadium appearance with a clever half-volley finish. Arsenal’s new number nine has looked extremely impressive in pre-season following his £45 million from Manchester City this summer. Jesus then made way for Eddie Nketiah who made it six for Arsenal after Granit Xhaka’s superb through ball found Gabriel Martinelli, and the young forward played it unselfishly to Nketiah who tapped into an empty net, completing the scoring as the Gunners won the Emirates Cup. Bringing the conclusion to what has been a very encouraging and successful pre-season.
One notable aspect of the game was the fact that Arsenal started with the same starting XI as the one that took too the field vs Chelsea in the USA. With Aaron Ramsdale in goal, a back four of Ben White at right back, Saliba and Gabriel as the centre backs, with Olexander Zinchenko completing the back four. Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and newly appointed captain Martin Odegaard behind a front three of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli. With players such as Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney all likely too miss the opening game of the season through injury, it is very likely that this XI will be the one that will kick off the season vs Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park