Three discussion points after Arsenal’s 6-0 demolition of Sevilla

Arsenal's players lift the Emirates Cup after winning their club friendly football match against Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 30, 2022. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Three observations from our last pre-season game against Sevilla

by Nonny

Bukayo Saka scored in the 10th minute on a cool penalty he earned after a sloppy tackle in the back from Karim Rekik, with Martin Odegaard playing a key role in generating the opportunity. Gabriel Jesus extended the advantage three minutes later with a close-range poacher’s goal following good work from Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka.
With less than a quarter-hour gone, Jesus grabbed onto a whipped cross from Martinelli to push past goalkeeper Bono and send the Emirates into a frenzy. Saka pounced on some sloppy passing by the visitor defence to score his second goal with only 19 minutes on the clock, adding to Arsenal’s happiness and Sevilla’s misery.
1. Gabriel Jesus lit up the Emirates on his first home appearance in Arsenal colours
Gabriel Jesus lit up the Emirates Stadium with another two-goal performance while playing for Arsenal against Sevilla. This came after Jesus had previously scored four goals in his debut pre-season as an Arsenal player. The Brazilian player looks every bit the part of the No. 9 position that the Gunners were desperate to fill during the last campaign, and he has a good chance of becoming the driving force behind Arsenal’s push to qualify for the Champions League this season.
He was in the right location at the right time to score his first goal and combined with Gabriel Martinelli to score his second. Jesus accomplished his hat-trick with another opportune goal in the 77th minute.
Mikel Arteta couldn’t have asked for more from Jesus on his Emirates debut, and the £45m paid to Manchester City may prove to be a bargain once the season starts.
2. A back-three hint
Mikel Arteta’s defence contributed to Arsenal’s overwhelming win against Sevilla. William Saliba was flanked by Benjamin White and Gabriel versus Sevilla.
Arsenal’s back-three formation enabled Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko to flourish as wing-backs despite Sevilla’s offensive flair. Arteta utilised a four-man defence last season, but he may ponder whether the configuration he used versus Sevilla may be the best for his first-choice XI.
3. Odegaard pulls on the armband – and pulls the strings
Martin Odegaard was named Arsenal’s new captain before the Emirates Cup. He also captains Norway. The 23-year-old playmaker is the logical heir to Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Odegaard played his usual No. 10 position and was lively against Sevilla. He played a key part in Bukayo Saka’s opening goal, setting up the Englishman with a precise pass.
The new Gunners captain will be pleased with the way his colleagues persistently harassed Sevilla and drove them into blunders. The Norwegian looks every inch of a leader on the pitch.
Nonny

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10 Comments

  1. We look formidable in defense physical and dominant,

    Honestly for whatever reason I had never knew Jesus was this technical and sharp forget about Vlohovic and company Jesus is the real deal.
    Now that we have found a goal God, our starting eleven is closer to the big boys .

    My only concern now is the squad depth, we should add a midfield general in Savic or cut price Fabian Ruiz, but if Pepe for some reason find his footing this season it could be frightening.

  2. Mental piece,but too positive to attract comments and debates as the egoistic anti MA brigade won’t openly acknowledge the fact we are on the rise,poor thing.

  3. I wasnt able to watch the match but my understanding was that rather than a back 3, the fullbacks (white and OZ) moved into CM positions alongside Partey more often when we were in possession, while xhaka pushed higher up the pitch – is this accurate?
    It makes sense given the personnel and the fact xhaka appears in the box quite a bit in the highlights?

    1. Exactly.
      It wasn’t a back 3. It was a back four, and white and OZ took turns to invert into CM beside Partey. Saka was not a wingback.

  4. Preseason is for getting players upto speed and fit for the new campaign ,no pressure as they are practice games ,we did look good though .
    Now the real test starts but we have seen when there is something to play for we cannot handle the pressure which has been the case for the past 2 seasons ,I’ll hold out any applause until I’ve seen some improvement in the way we play and how we look on the league table ,too many false dawns with this manager.
    But we should be up there fighting for a top 3-4 spot seeing the outlay and players signed over the last 2 and a half seasons ,I would imagine the owner will expect something to happen this season ,there is only so long you can hide behind some made up process which seems never ending .

  5. Really excited about this season, this is the year that I really
    Want to see Martinelli terrorise defences and score 15+ goals as well as Saka scoring a lot more than last.

    I would like to see this season, when we are on top of teams to go for the jugular no nervy 1-0. keep going (without being reckless) and score as many as possible..

    It’s always good to have a positive pre season rather than a poor one, because Palace would of seen the performances
    and would expect a tough game… must keep the crowd quiet!!!

    1. Palace had quite a good preseason also 3 wins 1 draw .
      Not quite the same lvl of opponents but still good results especially against Montpellier

  6. A back 3 would see more offensive play from Xhaka and the wingbacks as the protection of goal is assured by White, Saliba and Gabriel. Also I like the way Odegaard is providing assists and finally we got a real goal scoring threat in the form of Jesus. All in all it sounds very positive and looking forward to the season proper.

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