Five things to look out for as Arsenal beat Ipswich in their first pre-season friendly
Mikel Arteta will have been encouraged by Arsenal's first pre-season victory of the summer, a 5-1 thrashing of Ispwich.
Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is continuing his pre-season preparations.
Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is continuing his pre-season preparations.
Arsenal won their first preseason match, a 5-1 victory over Ipswich Town. It was a behind-closed-doors match that was not on the official pre-season fixture list, but it provided some crucial early match minutes to the early returners.
For the first half, the team consisted of eleven senior stars, with a younger squad taking the field for the second. Arsenal had released images of the returning players 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. However, if he can start producing numbers similar to this pre-season outing more regularly, the club and player will certainly feel vindicated in their choice. Nketiah is putting in the early hours to try to compete with his new rival, Gabriel Jesus, who has yet to arrive.
Reiss Nelson made an appearance as well. He was one of the players who returned after spending the season on loan elsewhere.
He had a successful season in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord, assisting them to the UEFA Conference League final. A narrow defeat to Roma, where Ainsley Maitland-Niles was also on loan for six months.
Nelson's future is uncertain, but his participation and goal may shed some light on where Mikel Arteta sees the England youth winger. However, with only one year remaining, unless a renewal agreement is reached, a summer departure remains the most likely option.
Raphinha appears to have eluded Arsenal. Perhaps an opening for Nelson has emerged. Only time will tell.
Hector Bellerin also appeared, which may come as a surprise. Although, given the size of the first team and the number of early returners, this may not be too surprising. Cedric Soares playing left-back while Nuno Tavares and Kieran Tierney recover from injuries is something Arteta will want to avoid if he brings in a player this summer.
Folarin Balogun was the final goal scorer. The England under-21 striker was on loan at Middlesbrough for the final six months of the season. He played out of position and on the left for the majority of the loan, but is regarded as a central figure.
Balogun's minutes would be limited with Jesus and Nketiah at the club.
So, his minutes in this friendly seem the perfect opportunity to try and put himself in the shop window for a lengthy season-long loan to continue his development and push for a place in the Arsenal senior squad in 2023.
Arsenal will play Nuremberg next on Friday as they travel to Germany for a pre-season camp before flying to the United States for a tour of Florida. Games against Everton, Orlando City and Chelsea precede an Emirates Cup game against Sevilla the weekend before the season starts
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