Arsenal won their first match of their pre-season with a 5-1 victory over Ipswich Town. It was a behind-closed-doors match and not part of the official pre-season fixture list, but it will have provided some vital early match minutes to the early returners.
The team comprised eleven senior stars for the first half, with a youthful side taking the field for the second. Arsenal had released images of the players returning for training ahead of the new campaign, with the bulk of the squad still on their extended holiday after featuring for their national teams.
Some awkward returnees still expected to leave this summer were amongst the group, Hector Bellerin, Bernd Leno, Pablo Mari, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson and Nicolas Pepe were involved against Ipswich. Plenty was worthy of note during the game, though.
