- Villareal Edge Arsenal 3-2 in Pre-season Friendly
- Former Arsenal Player, Pepe Scores, refuses to Celebrate
- New Signing Christian Nørgaard Get on the Scoresheet
Premier League giants, Arsenal fell 3–2 to Spanish side Villarreal CF in the opening game of the Emirates Cup despite fielding all six of their summer signings in front of a packed Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
Eko Hot Blog Gunners dominated the opening half-hour but were punished by clinical finishing from the visitors including a goal from former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pépé, who made a surprise return to north London.
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Pépé opened the scoring in the 30th minute after Arsenal failed to clear a rebound, stabbing home a loose ball from close range and refused to celebrate.
Just five minutes later, Arsenal’s defence was caught flat again as Karl Etta Eyong tapped in a second after a save by David Raya spilt back into danger.
Arsenal struck back instantly. A looping corner from Gabriel Martinelli found new signing Christian Nørgaard unmarked at the far post to head home his first goal for the club, cutting the deficit to 2–1 before the break.
The second half saw manager Mikel Arteta ring in several changes, including appearances from Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, and 15-year-old Max Dowman, who made his first senior appearance at Emirates Stadium.
Yet Villarreal again exposed Arsenal’s backline on the counter — this time Arnaut Danjuma breaking free to finish coolly inside the far post in the 53rd minute.
Arsenal pushed hard in the final stages. Dowman, a standout from the youth setup, was brought down in the box by Pau Navarro, winning a penalty. Martin Ødegaard stepped up and calmly slotted it home to make it 3–2 in the 75th minute.
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