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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was full of praise for his international stars after they helped the Gunners beat Manchester United 2-1 in California, where the two sides met in a preseason friendly.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli were on Copa America duty for Brazil this summer, while Kai Havertz was with Germany hosting Euro 2024 - but all three returned to action with their club in the early hours of Sunday morning, despite only landing at the team camp in America on Thursday.
Arteta was full of praise therefore for the manner in which they quickly adapted to the demands of the summer schedule and aided the Gunners, with Martinelli scoring the winner late on after coming on as sub.
“They had a day and one training session but they’ve come back in very good condition. We know that the boys are high speed at the moment and they’re not going to have time to prepare, so they have to catch up with that rhythm and they look really good,” the manager said after the game.
“I think it was a really competitive match, really good opposition for us, and I’m very happy that we managed to win the game. It was a big test against an opponent that are in a good moment. They’re having a good pre-season and we have to turn around a result which is great practice for us.”
Arteta praised an “unbelievable” atmosphere at the SoFi Stadium - where the LA Rams, Stan Kroenke’s NFL team, play - and highlighted the positive impact the preseason trip was having on the squad.
“We feel at home here,” he added. “This stadium is something special, it’s owned by our owners, and we have a big connection with the Rams. We are generating something special in the US, which is really important for us. I think culturally, it’s a big learning to understand about the cities.
“We’re going to play Liverpool which is a really tough opponent as well. So, it’s time to adapt, travel again to a different time zone, different people, different stadiums, and a different kind of opponent. It’s all really positive things for us to get better.”
For United boss Erik ten Hag, he pointed to a strong first 45 minutes - during which time Rasmus Hojlund scored the opening goal before Gabriel Jesus equalised - and suggested United were the more impressive of the two outfits.
“I think [the game] was a very good level for the third week of pre-season, from both sides, but in the first half I thought we were the better team. We scored a very good goal, a very good ball in behind from [Marcus] Rashford and then Hojlund with a very good move and a finish, I was very pleased. We also created some more good chances and we then conceded the goal which was offside.”
Hojlund soon after scoring went off with an apparent injury but Ten Hag said it was “too short” to give any assessment, while noting United were also “careful especially with Leny [Yoro] as he only did 50 per cent of the [training] sessions,” with the newly signed defender also replaced before half time.
