Arsenal scored a goal in their penultimate preseason friendly to beat Bayer Leverkusen.
The Gunners won 4-1 against the Germans, who were unbeaten in the Bundesliga last season.
Arsenal flew out of the blocks and took a three-goal lead at half-time after Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus appeared on the scoresheet.
Kai Havertz scored four points after the break and the only obstacle to a better night was Adam Hlozek, who scored a late goal for Leverkusen.
Standard Sport’s Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium and here are five things he learned. . .
Havertz spent the second half of last season excelling as Arsenal’s No. 9, but his days as a midfielder are probably over.
The German faced Leverkusen there and put in an impressive performance as a left number 8.
Havertz scored Arsenal’s first two goals. In the first, he came in down the left flank with a cut before Zinchenko.
Arsenal’s second goal came after Havertz’s feet in the box allowed Trossard to score.
It’s an encouraging feature for Arsenal, especially since Mikel Arteta needs his team to be unpredictable for their opponents.
Havertz will alternate between playing in attack and in midfield and when he is named number nine after the break, the German will get on the scoresheet.
Last season was complicated for Jesus. The striker was forced to undergo knee surgery on the eve of the crusade and, to be honest, he was never given the option to go after that.
There have been flashes of genius, such as his performance against Sevilla in the Champions League in October, and injuries have slowed his season.
This year, however, we expect it to be another one for the Brazilian after a summer off.
Jesús was left out of Brazil’s squad for the Copa América and took advantage of that snub to get back in shape for the preseason.
The striker has looked lively with Arsenal and that case returns with Leverkusen. Jesus put relentless pressure on the German defense and scored a very good goal just before leaving the break.
A full compatibility with Jesus would be a huge boost for Arsenal this season.
Trossard finished last season in very good shape, and it turns out that the Belgian has picked up where he left off.
Trossard scored four goals in the last six games last season, playing a pivotal role in the search for Arsenal’s name and cementing his position in the team.
The winger has overtaken Gabriel Martinelli in the pecking order and it seems that the Brazilian is now facing a fight.
Trossard looked strong against Leverkusen. He controlled a clever dummy for Zinchenko’s opener and then marked Arsenal’s moment with composure in the box.
The 29-year-old will be set to start Arsenal’s season opener against Wolves next week.
Arsenal fans will be hoping to see new signing Riccardo Calafiori in this clash against Leverkusen.
However, the defender, who joined the Bologna Gunners for £42million, is not part of the squad as he continues to play catch-up.
Calafiori joined Arsenal during the final days of their tour of the United States and did not feature in their final match against Liverpool.
In his absence here, Zinchenko took command and showed why he would relinquish the left-back position without a fight.
The Ukrainian put in a classic performance, winning the ball back several times while positioning himself in midfield for Arsenal to dominate possession.
Zinchenko capped off a clever move by opening the scoring with a shot from the edge of the box.
Fabio Vieira has gone through a difficult first two seasons at Arsenal since joining from Porto for £34m.
The midfielder showed flashes of brilliance, but never lived up to expectations.
So far, Vieira has basically been used in central midfield through Arteta, betting as one of the two number 8s.
However, it now looks like the Portuguese will be used extensively as he tries to patch things up at Arsenal.
Vieira was used there several times during Arsenal’s excursion to the United States and started against Leverkusen.
The 24-year-old had some moments of brilliance, with his strong set-pieces, but he didn’t draw as much attention as his 45-minute performance would have liked.
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