Touching Reyes tribute
Putting football to the side, Arsenal and Sevilla paid a touching tribute to the late Jose Antonio Reyes before, during and after the Emirates Cup clash. This was the first meeting between the two clubs since Reyes sadly died in a car accident in 2019 and they took the opportunity to show he remains in everybody's thoughts.
Before kick-off, both Mikel Arteta and Julen Lopetegui held up Reyes shirts - No.9 for the Gunners and No.10 for the La Liga outfit. In addition, there was a minute's applause for Reyes right before the game got underway, with a picture of him also shown on the big screen inside the Emirates Stadium.
Another round of applause for Reyes echoed around the ground in the ninth minute - interestingly at the same time Bukayo Saka was preparing to take a penalty - all whilst his father was in attendance. A really touching tribute from both clubs, whilst Terry Neill and Maria Petri were also remembered.
READ MORE: Arsenal vs Sevilla highlights: Gabriel Jesus scores hat-trick as Gunners win Emirates Cup
Arsenal are prepared
What a difference 12 months can make in football. Go back a year and Arsenal were not ready for the start of the new Premier League season. It can be argued that over the years the Gunners have rarely been in a position where they can get off to a flyer, but last year was something out of the ordinary.
After losing to Hibernian and drawing with Rangers as part of a training camp in Scotland, Arsenal had to withdraw from competing in the Florida Cup in the USA due to a small number of positive Covid-19 tests with hastily arranged games against Millwall and Watford not providing a true reflection with regards to where Arteta's side were at.
They then lost back-to-back games against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, lost Thomas Partey to injury, didn't have Gabriel Magalhaes available, Ben White wasn't afforded time to strike up a partnership with Pablo Mari and Albert Sambi Lokonga was thrown straight into the deep end following his arrival from Anderlecht.
To make matters even worse ahead of that Friday night opener away at Brentford, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were ruled out after testing positive for Covid, meaning the Gunners were right up against it in west London. A 2-0 defeat there spiralled into losses at the hands of Chelsea and Manchester City which marked their worst start to a Premier League season
This year, though, things have gone a lot smoother. Even with fitness concerns surrounding Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe, Takehiro Tomiyasu and summer signing Fabio Vieira, the Gunners were almost perfect in pre-season in terms of results but they produced some eye-catching performances.
Of course, beating Chelsea 4-0 and winning the Emirates Cup by thumping Sevilla 6-0 will count for absolutely nothing if Arsenal fall to pieces against Crystal Palace on Friday night, but unlike last season, preparations have been a lot better and the Gunners look ready to roll ahead of the new campaign.
Gabriel Jesus sets the tone
Another pre-season outing and another outstanding showing from Arsenal's big-money summer signing Gabriel Jesus. The big takeaway from his unofficial home debut was scoring a hat-trick and that was accomplished without taking the penalty after Bukayo Saka had been fouled.
But there is so much more to the Brazilian's game that will provide Gunners supporters with genuine excitement as the team moves on from the Aubameyang and Lacazette era. In many ways, Gabriel Jesus possesses the strengths of both players rolled into one.
He can run the channels, go in behind the defence, force the opposition into mistakes with his relentless pressing from the front and can drop deep to link the play which sets up the tantalising prospect of a free flowing Arsenal attack once his connection with Martin Odegaard, Saka and Gabriel Martinelli grows.
All three goals were sublime in their own right. For his first, Gabriel Jesus started the move off out wide but was still able to get into the box to finish off the move by reacting quickest to a loose ball. His second was just an excellent finish after being picked out by Martinelli and was in the right place at the right time to complete his hat-trick after Gabriel Magalhaes' effort had been cleared off the line.
He's not even been an Arsenal player for a full month yet, but it's already clear just how important the 25-year-old will be for the Gunners in the upcoming season as they look to mount another top-four challenge and win the Europa League.
Xhaka takes the team talk
Prior to kick-off there was a major Arsenal announcement: "We are delighted to announce that Martin Odegaard has been named our new men’s first-team captain," a statement read. "The 23-year-old has made a huge impact since arriving at Emirates Stadium from Real Madrid in January 2021, initially on loan, and has gone on to play 60 times and scoring nine goals.
"Odegaard has experience of wearing the armband, having been Norway captain since March 2021, whom he has won 43 caps for. We wish Martin every success as our captain."
This decision came as little surprise to many as Odegaard captained the side towards the back end of last season when Lacazette had been dropped in favour of Eddie Nketiah and, tellingly, was in possession of the armband during the USA pre-season tour.
However, despite being captain, it wasn't the Norwegian that led the pre-match team talk. Instead that was Granit Xhaka's responsibility as he fired up his teammates - and himself too after delivering a fine performance - ahead of kick-off, doubling down on his promise.
"Obviously, I am not captain of Arsenal any longer. But I can promise you that I will still act like a captain, even without the armband," he said when speaking exclusively to The Players' Tribune last season. "That is possible. I get a lot of respect from my teammates and our staff, and I am so thankful for that. I will always help the young guys and take responsibility for our performances."
Why Zinchenko got angry
As explained by Arteta in his post-match press conference, £32million summer signing from Manchester City Oleksandr Zinchenko is a perfectionist: "He’s used to winning - winning is the only thing and winning in the right way," the Spaniard revealed when asked what the Ukraine international will bring to the Arsenal squad.
"He’s a perfectionist and a really demanding boy, I know him so well, and after that he brings qualities that we didn’t have in the squad. He gives us a different option to play within the role in different spaces, and I’m really happy to have him."
The one moment in the game that proved the Arsenal right came in the second half when Zinchenko cut the ball back for Odegaard who fired an effort over the bar and it was picked up by the commentary team that the versatile left-back was rather angry with himself at the pass as he didn't keep the ball on the ground which meant it bobbled just before the Norwegian made any contact.
It was a moment that may have flown under the radar, but it's those little details that highlights the 25-year-old winning mentality and the hope is that some of it will rub off on the entire squad.
Have you been following England's progress to the final of the Women's Euros? Been cheering on Lionesses captain Leah Williamson, tournament joint-top scorer Beth Mead and the other Arsenal players taking part?
Then why not take the opportunity to purchase the official matchday programme for Sunday's final between England and Germany at Wembley?
Click here to find out how you can get hold of your copy!
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