Here is how football.london rated the Arsenal player performances in their five pre-season games
Christos Tzolis starred for Arsenal during this pre-season matches
Christos Tzolis starred for Arsenal during this pre-season matches(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Arsenal finished their pre-season friendlies with a 1-1 draw against Como which leaves them having won two games, drawn one and lost two. Mikel Arteta went into this summer with a huge portion of his squad either completely unavailable, some only able to feature in small cameos and a small portion having the chance to stake their claim for the new season.
The overall conclusion is, with both William Saliba and Jurrien Timber out injured, that there are deficiencies in the Arsenal squad and the reality is it is unlikely the team is going to be match-ready when the Premier League opener comes in eight days’ time against Coventry City. The Community Shield on Sunday might provide a better insight.
However, Arteta used a total of 35 players during the five pre-season games. From the behind-closed-doors friendly to Wednesday’s draw, we briefly discuss each player and conclude on how they faired.
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Here is how football.london has judged the players' pre-season performances.
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Same mistakes from last season persist, but was able to pull off some impressive saves in Girona in particular. 5
Illan Meslier – A good performance when he came off the bench against Real Betis, but a little shaky against Dortmund. Good penalty save however in the shootout, and comes out the better of the two back-up keepers. 6
David Raya – A class above in the 45 minutes against Como making a couple top stops and great anticipation and closing of incisive passes. 7
Ben White – Looks fit which is really promising and will need to stay that way after Jurrien Timber’s return appears still ‘weeks away’ as Arteta confirmed. 7
Theo Julienne – Great experience for the youngster and despite being turned inside out for Como’s goal, he didn’t look out of place alongside his senior teammates. 5
Louie Copley – Such a shame that he suffered his injury the way he did because the talent Copley has is well appreciated at the club. Played well against Girona too. n/a
Cristhian Mosquera – Looks to be the player to step up to replace William Saliba and I have to be honest, I think the Spaniard has looked a bit shaky this summer and it has not filled me with confidence yet. Hopefully he grows into it. 5
Marli Salmon – What a performance against Como in particular and at 16 years of age he has not looked at all overwhelmed and has even stepped above the performances of players many years older. 7
Brayden Clarke – Only a small cameo this summer but great experience for the young defender. n/a
Gabriel – Looks a little rusty from his usual elite self, especially against Dortmund and so needs to come back up to speed. 5
Piero Hincapie – Nothing eye-catching from the Ecuador international, he’s returned and will remain a solid option for the team but not the starter. 6
Riccardo Calafiori – Calafiori looks to be Arteta’s first choice at left-back and has done okay, but the side were a little exposed with the lack of a typical midfield option as a result of this high positioning. 6
Josh Ogunnaike – Another who clearly got more appreciation from Arteta and stole a march on his fellow left-back youth competitor to go on the trip abroad. Did lose the ball in a dangerous position against Como – a learning moment for sure. 5
Marcell Washington – Played in the behind-closed-doors friendly but appears to have dropped behind Ogunnaike. n/a
Myles Lewis-Skelly – A hectic summer with his future still not assured it appears. Mixed performances playing out of position which has made it tricky to pass judgment but he was excellent against Como, scoring a timely goal too. 7
Ife Ibrahim – The youth player behind Salmon that most supporters appear to have warmed to the most and have appreciated him playing in midfield. One to watch. 6
Bruno Guimaraes – A new signing arrives and was impressive in his 45 minutes against Como but there are high expectations of more to come. 6
Ethan Nwaneri – Needed a much better game against Como than the games that had come before and he provided that. Still questions linger over his future. 6
Martin Odegaard – A standout from his two performances and the club captain looks sharp and dangerous. Please stay fit! 8
Eberechi Eze – Has only seen 30 minutes of action, too little to pass much judgment but I liked what I saw, started sharp but faded. n/a
Fabio Vieira – Somehow has managed to go backwards, and really hasn’t shown much to make Arsenal reconsider his future. An exit is expected. 3
Kai Havertz – Great start scoring against Girona, but each game that passed by things didn’t really improve. Easy way to remedy it, stop playing the German in midfield! But in this case it was needs must. 6
Demiane Agustien – Got a few minutes against Girona but too little exposure to pass judgment. n/a
Evan Mooney – Played in the behind-closed-doors friendly against MK Dons. Little known about his individual display. n/a
Mikel Merino – A small cameo against Como, the Spaniard will be seen as the new Mr Clutch after Leandro Trossard’s exit. n/a
Max Dowman – Some really bright and dazzling early displays from Dowman, particularly against Girona. However some have rightly begun to judge him at a higher level because of his talent with a consensus of needing to see him vary his game some more, and release passes sooner. Still, very exciting all the same. 8
Noni Madueke – Small cameo, another example of running the ball off the pitch and a missed penalty… Please keep Nwaneri. n/a
Ismeal Kabia – Has bundles of pace which he uses to good effect, and caused Girona and Betis a couple problems. 5
Reiss Nelson – On the way to the exit door and was ineffective in his pre-season opportunities. 4
Viktor Gyokeres – Scored the penalty against Dortmund and was better in the second half after a poor first but missed a big chance against Betis and couldn’t utilise his possession well enough against Como. 5
Gabriel Jesus – The sooner the Brazilian is sold will be a benefit to all parties. Very poor performances despite a goal in Girona coming from a fortuitous moment. Some big misses and poor execution. 4
Andre Harriman-Annous – Small cameo against Girona, after getting some competitive senior minutes last season, this time around that looks very unlikely. n/a
Christos Tzolis – The standout player of pre-season. Four goal contributions in his first four games, three assists and a goal. A brilliant set-piece and penalty taker, the Greek looks like he’s been at the club a lot longer than a few weeks. 9
Gabriel Martinelli – Looks more likely by the day to be leaving the club and after a lacklustre summer, it’s difficult not to feel this is the right decision. 4
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Ceadach O'Neill – Some good minutes and a goal against MK Dons too. Even got a chance to practice some media work in Ireland after the game with Real Betis after getting a good reception. 6
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