Date: 18th July 2022 at 12:07pm
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Arsenal continued their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 victory against Everton and we take a look at five talking points in the aftermath of the game.

ANOTHER ROUTINE VICTORY

Arsenal made it back-to-back pre-season wins with a 2-0 victory over Everton in the United States. In the early hours of Sunday morning, UK time, Mikel Arteta’s men saw off the Toffees with ease, in a game where they were the dominant side for a large spell.

Two quick goals in the first half were enough to seal the result and we’ll be taking a closer look at the best talking points from the game.

Gabriel Jesus suits Arsenal perfectly

At this point, it’s easy to see why Mikel Arteta went all out to sign Jesus from Manchester City. The Brazilian fits Arsenal’s dynamics perfectly. One moment he is an incredible false nine, and the other he’s suddenly a proper forward making runs to stretch teams.

He opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark, firing home from close range after  brilliantly controlling a floated corner-kick cross from Martin Odegaard. Few minutes later, he turned provider after making a brilliant daunting run through the middle to set up Bukayo Saka for Arsenal’s second goal.

Speaking after the game, Arteta could not hide his excitement at the Brazilian, who found the net for the second game in succession.

“He’s a real threat and this is what we need. And then he’s the one. The moment we give the ball away he is straight away active and putting pressure and getting his team behind him.”, the Spaniard said to the club’s official website.

Those comments should get any Arsenal fan excited.

William Saliba leaves Arteta with a real headache

The ‘little matter’ of William Saliba is one that has caused some controversy in the Arsenal ranks of late. Barely a week ago since reports claimed he wanted first-team guarantee, he was given a chance to show his worth – and he took that chance in style.

Though he had a couple of shaky moments, he had an overall solid performance alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in the heart of defence. His display somewhat justified his ambitions of being a regular and not a squad player.

Arsenal fans can get excited but not overly so as Ben White was ruled out of that game due to injury, meaning Saliba might not have started in another scenario. Regardless, it is refreshing to see that proper competition exists for White and Gabriel.

Thomas Partey must stay injury free

Mikel Arteta might have a couple of midfield names to choose from but none might be as important as Thomas Partey. The Ghanaian was at the heart of everything through the center and showed another fine display in midfield. He did a good job of covering for the defence, while making good transitions in attack as well.

It might not seem like it but he could yet be one of Arsenal’s most important players for the upcoming campaign.

The arrival of Zinchenko is highly important

In the absence of Kieran Tierney, who continues to battle with injury problems, Mikel Arteta trusted Nuno Tavares in the left-back role.

Though the Portuguese did not exactly put a foot wrong, he was too rash and many of his crosses and passes lacked any form of precision. It is for this reason that Arsenal prioritized another left-back addition, which in turn leaves the door open for Tavares to go out on loan.

Hector Bellerin is not at that level anymore

He might have been a fan-favourite at some point but his displays on the pitch showed he can’t perform at the required level for Arsenal. Having come on in the second half, he was outpaced on several occasions and his body language pretty much showed he no longer feels like he belongs at the club.

It’s safe to say he might have run out of time at the Emirates stadium.

 

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