Arsenal suffered their first defeat of pre-season as Real Betis won 3-1 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Rodrigo Riquelme and Nelson Deossa put Manuel Pellegrini’s side two goals ahead before Piero Hincapie headed Arsenal back into the game. Pablo Fornals restored Betis’ two-goal advantage before half-time, with neither side scoring after the break.
Mikel Arteta made seven changes during the second half, but Arsenal were unable to recover. Here are three things we learnt from Arsenal vs Real Betis.
Full-time: Arsenal 1-3 Real Betis (Hincapie | Riquelme, Deossa, Fornals).
Thoughts on that performance & result, Gooners? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/s0CX5wcqfk
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 5, 2026
Arsenal conceded three times in the opening 45 minutes, having named the same starting XI that beat Girona 4-1.
Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori formed the back four, with Myles Lewis-Skelly operating at the base of midfield. Betis repeatedly found space as Arsenal struggled to control transitions.
Not every goal should cause alarm. Deossa’s second was an excellent long-range strike, while Fornals capitalised after Kai Havertz lost possession. However, allowing three first-half goals highlighted how much work remains before the competitive season begins.
William Saliba’s absence makes that more important. The France defender is expected to miss the start of the campaign with a back problem, and ReadArsenal has already examined why Arsenal may still need another defender despite Gabriel Magalhaes returning.
Arteta does have options. Mosquera and Hincapie can both play centrally, while Gabriel is now back with the squad.
The Betis performance showed why finding a settled combination matters.
Tzolis adds another Arsenal set-piece option
Christos Tzolis has made an encouraging start to his first Arsenal pre-season.
The £34m signing supplied the corner from which Hincapie headed home, adding another contribution after scoring against Girona and assisting in the earlier win over MK Dons.
His delivery could become particularly useful.
Arsenal have developed into one of the Premier League’s strongest set-piece sides under Arteta. Having another player capable of taking corners from the left gives them greater flexibility when Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard return.
Tzolis was also willing to receive the ball wide and attack Betis directly.
ReadArsenal reported earlier on Wednesday that Tzolis believes there are similarities between his game and former Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez. The comparison is ambitious, but three productive pre-season appearances have at least provided a positive start.
Arteta’s experimental midfield struggled.
Lewis-Skelly started deepest, with Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri ahead of him. All three can play in midfield, but the combination lacked the control Arsenal usually get from their senior options.
Fornals’ goal underlined the danger. Havertz gave possession away and Betis quickly punished Arsenal before the break.
There is important context.
Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Odegaard were unavailable, while Arsenal have now agreed a £75m deal for Bruno Guimaraes. ReadArsenal confirmed the Guimaraes agreement earlier on Wednesday.
The Betis midfield is therefore unlikely to resemble Arteta’s preferred combination once the season starts.
That is probably the biggest lesson from Dublin.
The 3-1 defeat was poor, particularly before half-time, but Arsenal are still missing several of the players who provide their usual control.
Sunday’s meeting with Borussia Dortmund should give Arteta another opportunity to move closer to the side he wants ready for Manchester City in the Community Shield.
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