Arsenal showed no signs of rustiness as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup.
Almost a month after the Gunners beat Wolves in their final Premier League match before club football went on a break for the World Cup, Mikel Arteta’s side looked as sharp as ever in their first of two matches in Dubai.
Goals from Gabriel, Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira put the Gunners in complete control heading into the break, and that proved to be more than enough for victory. A penalty shootout took place after the match with an extra point on offer, and Karl Hein, with his four saves, was the only one to come out with real credit as the Gunners won 2-1 following a really poor set of spot-kicks.
Arsenal face AC Milan next week, before returning to London to play Juventus in a final friendly before the resumption of the Premier League.
Arteta named a strong side in Dubai, the lineup very similar to those seen in the Europa League so far this season. Nketiah led the line, with Rob Holding and Gabriel at centre-back and Kieran Tierney, Martin Odegaard and Reiss Nelson among those also starting.
The Gunners started with purpose, Gabriel heading over the bar from a free-kick and Vieira then seeing his effort saved when played through by Odegaard. From the resulting corner, Gabriel was not about to make the same mistake as he rose highest and powered home a header.
A lovely move doubled the lead with just over half an hour played, as Vieira was set away on the right and he squared it for Nketiah who just about found the bottom corner as he lost his balance.
The third was the pick of the bunch, one-touch passing taking Arsenal to the edge of the Lyon box where Vieira whipped a stunning strike into the top corner to cap off a perfect 45 minutes for the Gunners.
Marquinhos was brought on at the break and nearly marked his introduction in style, but his brilliant curling effort was met by an even better save as Anthony Lopes tipped it onto the bar.
Arteta made nine changes for the final 20 minutes, goalkeeper Hein the only player to start the match and stay on the pitch, as the club’s young prospects got their chance to impress.
The penalty shootout was left down to them, with all the experienced first-team players off the pitch. Marquinhos and Matt Smith scored the opening two penalties for Arsenal, but it was rapidly downhill from there. Reuell Walters skied a terrible spot-kick, while Catalin Cirjan’s attempted panenka badly backfired.
Fortunately for the Gunners, Lyon were even worse. Jeff Reine-Adelaide missed against his former side and three more saves from Hein followed, victory sealed when Rayan Cherki decided he too fancied the panenka but simply dinked it up for the unmoved Arsenal goalkeeper to gratefully catch.
