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Scottish Sun
11 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Arsenal player ratings: Jakub Kiwior's mistakes cost Gunners again – but Nwaneri a rare shining light against Villarreal
NWAN AND ONLY Arsenal player ratings: Jakub Kiwior's mistakes cost Gunners again – but Nwaneri a rare shining light against Villarreal Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ARSENAL endured an underwhelming return home with a second pre-season defeat to Villarreal. The club's fourth pre-season friendly, their first at the Emirates, saw all six summer signings make their north London debuts. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Arsenal suffered a 3-2 defeat to Villarreal Credit: Reuters 7 Mikel Arteta still has some problems to solve before the season starts Credit: AFP However, it was not a game they will be rushing to remember. Former Gunner Nicolas Pepe, who joined the club for a then-record £72million in 2019, opened the scoring for the visitors from close range. Karl Etta Eyong then capitalised on some poor defending to make it two. New boy Christian Norgaard got one back for the hosts with a composed header at the back post following a Gabriel Martinelli corner. Villarreal restored their two-goal lead following a counter-attack which culminated in a strike from ex-Tottenham man Arnaut Danjuma. Teenager Max Dowman, who made his Emirates debut, then won a penalty in the final 15 minutes for captain Martin Odegaard to bury. However, it wasn't enough to fire the Gunners to a comeback. Arsenal then lost the post-match penalty shootout 4-3. Here's how SunSport's Emillia Hawkins rated the performance. Join SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from The Emirates David Raya - 5 Arguably could've done better for the opening goal, perhaps even the second. Didn't look too comfortable when there were numbers in the box. Arsenal's 2025-26 third kit 'leaked' and fans absolutely love it Ben White - 5 Back making those overlapping runs with Saka on the right. Lost his runner, Gerard Moreno, in the build-up to the second goal after initially being caught slightly out of position. Made a few crosses from the right but didn't really challenge the Villarreal defence too much. William Saliba - 5 Doesn't look his best without favoured centre-back partner, Gabriel Magalhaes, by his side. Was caught quite high up the pitch for Villarreal's second and dragged out wide, leaving plenty of space in the box. Jakub Kiwior - 4 Failed to make the clearance before Pepe's opening goal after being out-muscled in the six-yard box. Also made a failed attempt to win the ball for Villarreal's second. 7 Jakub Kiwior struggled in the build-up to the first two goals Credit: Getty Myles Lewis-Skelly - 6 Lost track of Pepe at times out wide but did well moving centrally. Battled well and drew some fouls in the middle. Out of position for the visitors' third goal. Christian Norgaard - 7 Made some important interceptions and challenges in midfield. Had a wild half-volley shot from the edge of the box which bounced out for a throw-in but redeemed himself with a composed header at the back post to get one back for the Gunners. Mikel Merino - 5 Didn't make much of an impact at all in midfield. Very quiet. Returned to the No9 position in the second half when Gyokeres went off. Ethan Nwaneri - 7 Very sharp in the first half when in control of the ball, taking on players and working well with Saka on the right. Played centrally in the No10 position as opposed to the wing. 7 Ethan Nwaneri impressed in the No10 position Credit: Getty Bukayo Saka - 6 Far from his best performance. Didn't have too much luck out on the right and failed to cause any real problems for goalkeeper Luiz Junior. Gabriel Martinelli - 6 Looked sharp at the start of the match by making some direct runs down the left and some good crosses. Had a bit of a dip mid-first half but got the assist for Norgaard's goal. Viktor Gyokeres - 5 Had a very quiet evening. Had a few promising opportunities cutting inside from the left during the first half. Plenty of Arsenal's chances came from crosses - perhaps he would have done better had the ball been played directly to his feet. Didn't really look up to speed - not surprising given he didn't really have much of a pre-season. 7 Viktor Gyokeres had a quiet game Credit: PA SUBSTITUTES Cristhian Mosquera (for White, 46) - 6 Looked fairly comfortable alongside Gabriel after coming on. Martin Zubimendi (for Norgaard, 46) - 6 A promising debut home performance from the midfielder, who worked well alongside Rice. Declan Rice (for Nwaneri, 62) - 6 Worked well with new boy Zubimendi in the middle. Gabriel Magalhaes (for Kiwior, 62) - 6 A fairly composed performance. Still working his way back up to full match fitness. Martin Odegaard (for Gyokeres, 62) - 6 Scored the penalty which made it 3-2 by tucking his shot nicely into the bottom-right corner. Jurrien Timber (for Saliba, 62) - 5 Didn't get involved too much. Max Dowman (for Saka, 62) - 7 Got one of the biggest cheers of the evening as he was introduced to the home fans for the first time while making his way onto the pitch. Looked to make an impact from the off and came close with a low-driven chance cutting inside from the right. Won the penalty after being tripped by Pau Navarro. 7 Max Dowman had another very impressive performance Credit: Getty Kepa Arrizabalaga (for Raya, 62) - 5 Beaten by a low-driven strike from Danjuma just minutes after coming off the bench. Not the best start to his time at the Emirates. Oleksandr Zinchenko (for Lewis-Skelly, 77) - 5 Beaten slightly too easily which could have seen the visitors get a fourth. Noni Madueke (for Martinelli, 77) - 6 Not a bad start for the winger, especially considering he only joined his team-mates for the first time a few days ago. 7 Noni Madueke made his debut for the Gunners Credit: PA ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest rumours from the Emirates
Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal encounter Viktor Gyokeres issue as Max Dowman makes new statement to Mikel Arteta
ARSENAL 2-3 VILLARREAL: Viktor Gyokeres' first Gunners start ended in dissappointmnet as Spanish side Villarreal picked up a morale-boosting win at the Emirates Arsenal were itching for their glitzy big-money signing to grab a goal - and after 17 minutes, Nicolas Pepe showed Viktor Gyokeres how it was done. The great irony of it all was that Pepe, considered one of the Gunners' biggest flops following his £72million switch from Lille, arguably looked sharper than Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian is facing a make-or-break campaign in north London and it's already clear the understanding between Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Gyokeres will require time. That said, the former Sporting striker did show an early glimpse of what Mikel Arteta's side have been missing in recent seasons inside the opening 30 seconds. It did not end in a goal but there was a huge roar of anticipation when the bullish Swede burst into the box and attempted to square an early cutback. Not only is he 6ft 2' but the £63.7million frontman is square-shouldered and has pace to burn. Kai Havertz, who was a notable absentee against Villarreal, thrives in between the lines but if Gyokeres' Emirates debut is anything to go by; Arsenal fans can expect pure determination, power and a hunger to score goals. He pressed the Spaniards' backline and goalkeeper aggressively and did not afford them a moment's peace. But to get the best from Gyokeres, Arsenal will need to create him both chances and space. Here, he had neither. There were a few minor openings and one wild swing at an overhead kick but Villarreal's backline was camped inside their box. At times, it felt like the same old story as Martinelli continually ran down blind alleys. Villarreal were two goals to the good when Etta Eyong tapped home a second from close range. Christian Norgaard netted his first Arsenal goal with a back-post header from a corner before ex-Tottenham forward Arnaut Danjuma added a third for the visitors. Fifteen-year-old Max Dowman was spectacular upon entering the field on 60 minutes with his immaculate footwork and dribbling. He won a penalty converted by Martin Odegaard and already looks like a Premier League-ready star. His close control, deft touches and explosiveness was a breath of fresh air. He cannot play in the Champions League until his 16th birthday but we are likely to see him make his top-flight debut very soon. Arteta isn't afraid to hand Hale End gems minutes as Ethan Nwaneri made his Premier League bow at just 15 years and 181 days old. Dowman may not break that record but there is no shame in that. This kid is special and is going right to the very top. It's just a shame he plays in the same position as his idol Saka.
The Guardian
11 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Oasis-style ticketing and expendable fans: the battle to retain football's soul
'I'm a bit younger, so this is all I've known,' says Nick Clarke, 'but something that defines this moment is the feeling that it's our last chance. You know that phrase: 'The game's gone'? I think the game is genuinely going away. It's excluding traditional supporters and the communities that built the clubs in the first place.' Clarke has just celebrated his 30th birthday and is coming off the back of a big season. As one of the four season-ticket holders behind the MCFC Fans Foodbank Support, Clarke has been active among the Manchester City fanbase and in the community since the pandemic. With the growing concern over the pricing and provision of tickets at his club last year, he helped coordinate protests by fans whose rivalries go back generations, but whose problems are increasingly shared. Supporters of Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United and others joined City fans under the banner 'Stop Exploiting Loyalty' and in doing so became part of a new wave of supporter activism. 'I know there's all these things about multi-club ownership, private and state ownership, playing games abroad, accusations of killing the soul of the game,' Clarke says. 'But, really, what is the game? It's the communities that go to it, it's the communities that have made the clubs who they are, going back four, five, six generations till their very inception. 'The wider football supporter community are only just now cottoning on that we have so much more in common and if we don't stand together the game is going to be gone before we know it. That's all we have to do and all we can do. We just need to really keep up that momentum.' It already seems there will be reason for fans to take a stand once more this season. It is not the first time they will have come together to demand change, but for those with clubs at the top of the pyramid there is a sense the ground is shifting and the needs of fans is becoming an afterthought, if not an outright problem. At the heart is a concern that clubs want to move away from having matches filled with season-ticket holders towards something more casual, and more lucrative. Imagine every Premier League fixture becoming more like an Oasis gig, for ever. 'The problems are different at different levels of the game,' says Tom Greatrex, the new chair of the Football Supporters' Association, who drove the Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign. 'In the Premier League, and at the top of the Championship, Stop Exploiting Loyalty has helped to bring to the fore a set of issues that have been developing over a period of time. 'We are seeing that parts of clubs' fanbases, which have traditionally been loyal and go home and away, are now almost expendable to not all, but many of the people that currently run a number of those clubs. It's gone beyond exploitation to expendability.' Fans are suffering rises in ticket prices, the lowering or ending of ticket concessions and initiatives that require season-ticket holders to attend a certain number of games each season or risk losing their place, as examples of this trend. According to Greatrex, the effects are being felt in some grounds. 'The number of people who are there almost to experience something which they're not necessarily part of has tipped into a significant proportion to the extent that it undermines the thing they're going there to experience,' he says. 'There is a real danger that in a short-term push for increased revenue from matchday tickets and associated spend that clubs are in danger of actually undermining the whole 'product' they're so proud of.' One topic that crystallises the anxiety over expendability is that of matches being selected for TV. There will be more televised games than ever this season, with Sky showing a minimum 215 Premier League fixtures. With each televised match comes possible rescheduling and a potentially challenging (or even impossible) journey for fans. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion 'There can be very very short-notice changes, which make it very difficult for people to be able to attend those matches. I don't think there's been enough focus on things that could be done to mitigate some of the frustration that comes from those changes.' The FSA has called for a 12-week notice period on fixture rearrangements, the provision of more 'football special' trains and the extension of the £30 cap on away tickets into the EFL. The Premier League has committed to giving six weeks' notice of fixture adjustments on all matches until January, but last month had to apologise after failing to meet its own deadline of announcing all September adjustments by 9 July. It is striking that the mood among fans is so febrile at the time the government has passed legislation designed, in part, to give supporters more influence over their clubs. Fan consultation is a central requirement of the new Independent Football Regulator for the English men's elite game and legislation is, in part, the result of long-term campaigning by the FSA. It is not a panacea and its influence is unlikely to take hold for some seasons yet, but Greatrex, a former Labour MP, believes it can form a platform for better understanding between fans, clubs and competitions. 'More than ever, there is an appreciation – among some, it's reluctant, but among others, it's embraced – that supporters have a legitimate voice that deserves to be heard and their views to be considered,' he says. '[The regulator] is actually the basis for a much more constructive approach, which means that if clubs are sensible you can prevent a lot of the flashpoints getting to the point at which they become high profile, because you've dealt with it sensibly ahead of that time.' Clarke would much rather have dialogue than protest. 'I don't want to be doing another protest all my life,' he says. 'I know there's no easy answers but a lot of this protest energy has come because people feel they're not being listened to. That's where the anger comes from.'
