Arsenal were back in action on Wednesday for their first Asia pre-season friendly against AC Milan.
A Bukayo Saka goal saw the Gunners register a 1-0 win, kicking off their summer campaign in style.
Much has been said about that friendly, but the real question is: who were the biggest winners from that game?
Six players who caught the eye against AC Milan
I could not settle on just one, so here is how I saw it:
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Ethan Nwaneri made several eye-catching moves during the 45 minutes he clocked against Milan. Operating as a No.10, his meaningful dribbles and quick releases stood out, especially his smooth collaboration down the right-hand side.
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Ben White’s resurgence is on. With 66 minutes on the pitch, there was a palpable freshness to his play. He reminded us of what injury had denied us last season. His runs from deep and the timing of his passes showed just how much he offers in the final third.
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Martin Zubimendi, in just 45 minutes, gave a glimpse of what Arsenal have been missing in deep-lying creativity. His impact was instant, forward-thinking and crisp, punching passes through the lines to spark attacking phases.
Dowman, Nelson and Havertz make strong cases
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Max Dowman, in his 24-minute cameo, lived up to the hype. He looked as though he had been part of this squad for five years. He is a serious talent and clearly up for a big season.
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Reiss Nelson staked his claim as a genuine rival to Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli for the left-wing spot. His display left many Gooners wanting more, and he was arguably the most effective off the left in that match. If no other winger arrives, Nelson may deserve to stay.
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Kai Havertz, returning from pre-season, looked physically sharper. His fluidity and strength will be something Mikel Arteta is eager to tap into. Against Milan, he showed he will not surrender the No.9 role to Viktor Gyökeres without a fight.
Who were your standouts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
COYG!
Daniel O
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Nwaneri’s Cruyff Turn on the right wing was so delightful to see
Lamine Yamal did it several times in La Liga, but I have never seen our wingers do it in EPL and in European games
It would be interesting to see whether Nwaneri has the cojones or not to do that kind of highly-risky turn in real competitive matches
@Gai, If Nelson can be injury free he should be able to challenge Matinelli/Trossard he did better than both against Millan. Ofxourse consistency is another thing.
With the way Nwaneri played on the RW he should be ready to compete with Odegard..
Zubimendi, IMO, seem like a play maker from deep. He may need to build his stamina to function effectively as a NO6 he lost one or two balls but recovered well against Millan. But very technically gifted
He really can’t
If he is starting we can’t win title
Nelson looked a bit slow against Milan to me. Kind of stuck out. Martinelli looks like he could use more confidence, he moved the ball forward but his shooting boots just weren’t on. Though to be fair, he was isolated, he had no support from Rice and Zinchenko on the left, which is the exact same problem we’ve been seeing for ages. I would prefer to see him with MLS or Calafiori at left back, maybe next game.
Nwaneri was excellent
Great to have White back. Showed what a partnership there was/is between him, Saka and Odegaard
Massive credit to the academy players who looked so assured. Incredible at that age
Nwaneri really impressed me with his sharpness, movement and ball striking skills.
Nelson was good too, a good performance to increase his transfer fee to a new club.
30m pounds would be good business for him.
Am still of the opinion that martinelli should have been sold out like yesterday or given away for free to man u or Tottenham 😡😡