Mikel Arteta was spotted watching Arsenal's under-21 side beat Manchester United 3-1 at Meadow Park less than 24 hours after his senior team kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace.
Despite a late finish at Selhurst Park, where a Gabriel Martinelli header and Marc Guehi's own goal secured all three points for the Gunners, Arteta took a watching brief as the home side came back from a goal down to win in their first fixture of the Premier League 2 season.
The Spaniard's presence could be explained by Takehiro Tomiyasu's return to fitness, as the Japanese defender searches for competitive minutes before making his first-team comeback. Summer signing Marquinhos also starred and gave his side the lead by scoring Arsenal's second.
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The fixture also represented Mehmet Ali's first in charge of the under-21 side following Kevin Betsy's departure to take over at League Two Crawley Town. Academy manager Per Mertesacker was also in attendance.
Khayon Edwards and Miguel Azeez also netted for Arsenal who recovered well from falling behind after Charlie Wellens struck a superb free kick for United.
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