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New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
Arsenal 3 Athletic Club 0: Gyokeres' first goal, Rice-Zubimendi promise and a new avenue of attack
Arsenal's pre-season preparations ended in impressive style as they beat Spanish side Athletic Club 3-0 at the Emirates. Viktor Gyokeres registered his first goal for the club, which was created by fellow new arrival Martin Zubimendi, with Bukayo Saka also on the scoresheet. Kai Havertz rounded off Arsenal's evening with an 82nd-minute strike. Advertisement There was then a penalty shootout after the match, and Zubimendi was on target to win it for Arsenal (6-5). Next up for Mikel Arteta's side is a trip to Manchester United's Old Trafford on August 17, when they will be attempting to get their Premier League campaign off to a winning start. Dan Sheldon and Art de Roche break down Arsenal's performance against the La Liga side. As the Arsenal team was called out over the public address system, the loudest cheer was reserved for Gyokeres, the €63.5million (£54.8m, $74.2m) signing from Sporting CP who Arsenal fans hope will fire the team to the 2025-26 Premier League title. The 27-year-old's first start came on Wednesday against Villarreal, but he had to wait until Saturday evening to get off the mark. He had a tame effort saved by Athletic Club's Unai Simon in the 21st minute, but found his head to be more useful as he directed a brilliant cross from Zubimendi past the Spanish goalkeeper. The loudest cheer, however, came after the ball had rippled the net, with Declan Rice encouraging Gyokeres to pull out his trademark celebration. He obliged, and the Emirates lapped it up. Gyokeres came close to adding a second goal, with his diving header — from Noni Madueke's cross — being parried onto the post by Simon. His goal aside, there was plenty of good link-up play involving Gyokeres, which should please Arteta, and that will only continue to get better as he and his new team-mates become more accustomed to playing with one another. 'I think he pins both centre-backs and he is a player that if you leave him with space one against one, then he is going to destroy you, so he is going to create a lot of space for us,' Arteta said of Gyokeres. 'In any situation, there is a player there that can score a goal. That first goal is always very, very important, and he took it really well.' Dan Sheldon After months of waiting, Arsenal fans finally got their first real look at a midfield three of Martin Odegaard, Zubimendi and Rice. The trio played some minutes alongside each other earlier in pre-season, but this was their first start together, and it did not disappoint. Odegaard kept to his usual pocket of space off the right for the most part, despite his lovely pass for Arsenal's second goal coming from a more central area. Advertisement The dynamic between Rice and Zubimendi was particularly interesting to watch. 'We saw another evolution today,' Arteta said, speaking about how the pair complemented each other and were not stuck to rigid positions. Zubimendi started as the deepest midfielder, but at times Rice was the player to take up that role. Rice particularly impressed with multiple long passes in behind for Saka, which helped speed up Arsenal's attacks. His more central positioning also allowed Riccardo Calafiori to excel by pushing wider and further forward. As for Zubimendi, he was incredibly composed with quick, sharp passes in possession, while also showing the necessary awareness and bite defensively. The Spain international's performance was capped off by his whipped assist for Gyokeres, but the interchanging between him and Rice made for good viewing all on its own. The collective performance of the midfield was promising ahead of the opening day trip to Old Trafford. Add the pre-season performances of Ethan Nwaneri to the mix and Arteta should feel encouraged by his new-look midfield. Art de Roche One of the underlying themes of Arsenal's pre-season has been more direct attacking play. It was noticeable early on against Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong, and once again against Athletic Club. Saka was found by long passes in behind twice in the opening exchanges on Saturday. Both times he brought the ball down with a velvet-like touch before eliminating left-back Inigo Lekue one-versus-one. For years it has felt like Arsenal do not make the most of space behind defenders when they build up slowly, making this a truly refreshing change of pace. Saka benefited from this directly for his goal. With the ball bobbling around the centre circle, Odegaard's cushioned pass in behind freed up Gabriel Martinelli, who laid it off to the England international for an easier finish. Advertisement More direct play was expected with the arrival of Gyokeres, who brought genuine excitement whenever he was found galloping into open space. Even though these moments did not end in goals, the signs are positive. Kai Havertz then seized the moment well when Saka knocked the ball up to the halfway line, where Athletic Club were left exposed. Running powerfully, Havertz reached the ball first, carried it into the box while holding off a challenge, and finished calmly. On the more direct approach, Arteta said: 'Having threat from all areas of the pitch into the last line is a weapon we need to continue to develop. 'It can be from David (Raya), it can be from the last line, it can be from people playing on the base. Today, we had from many situations a feeling of, 'Yeah, at any moment we can attack their backs and be very dangerous', and that will create a lot of space for other players inside.' Art de Roche Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
Brighton 2 Wolfsburg 1: Explaining Baleba absence as De Cuyper stakes his claim
Brighton & Hove Albion completed an unbeaten pre-season programme with a 2-1 victory on Saturday against Bundesliga side Wolfsburg at the Amex Stadium. Goals in each half by Georginio Rutter and new signing Maxim De Cuyper maintained Fabian Hurzeler's side undefeated record from a mixture of matches played behind closed doors and in public against opposition as varied as Wycombe Wanderers of League One, Championship clubs Stoke City, Coventry City and Southampton, and Las Palmas from Spain's second tier. Here The Athletic looks at some of the main talking points from the final preparation for the club's ninth successive Premier League campaign. Baleba's absence from the squad against Wolfsburg was seized upon by Manchester United supports on social media as a sign that a deal for the Cameroon midfielder could still happen before the transfer window closes on September 1. Their optimism would carry greater weight if this had been a new development during Brighton's pre-season programme. In fact, it was the fourth friendly in succession Baleba has sat out. He has not been involved since a knee injury sustained in training during the camp in Marbella, Spain, in June — long before colleague David Ornstein revealed that United are exploring the conditions of a deal for the talented 21-year-old via intermediaries. Adam Webster suffered a far more serious knee ligament injury in innocuous circumstances in Spain on the same day as Baleba which will keep the central defender out for most if not all of the season. Baleba? Hurzeler revealed to reporters post-match that he trained on Friday and Saturday and will be back for the opening Premier League fixture at home against Fulham next Saturday. Advertisement Brighton's stance is unchanged. They have no desire to lose Baleba, especially with less than a month of the window remaining to find a replacement. It would require an exorbitant offer — of the kind that took Moises Caicedo to Chelsea for £115million ($154.5m) two years ago — to potentially alter their position. One of the lessons of pre-season is that it will take time for the majority of the five signings made in the current transfer window to force their way into contention — with the exception of De Cuyper. A drag back early drew applause from fans basking in the sunshine and enjoying their first glimpse of the Belgian left-back, signed from Club Brugge. The adventurous De Cuyper has settled quickly as the replacement for Pervis Estupinan following the Ecuadorian's move to Milan. De Cuyper doubled the lead in the 74th minute with a calm finish from a tight angle after Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara parried Mats Wieffer's low cross. Italian central defender Diego Coppola is the only other newcomer given a significant amount of game time across the pre-season programme (267 minutes). French centre-back Olivier Boscagli made his second appearance — an hour-long comeback from injury — in the training ground game against Wolfsburg. Teenagers Charalampos Kostoulas and Tommy Watson are yet to get any game time. Hurzeler has multiple candidates to play at right-back, with no clear first choice. Three of the contenders were involved in a 2-0 win against Wolfsburg on Saturday morning, played behind closed doors at the training centre in Lancing. Experienced Dutchman Joel Veltman played the full 90 minutes on the right of the defence. Tariq Lamptey had his first minutes of pre-season at left-back as a half-time replacement for Ferdi Kadioglu. Lamptey ended doubts about his future by signing a one-year contract extension in June. Kadioglu is being eased back from a toe injury which required surgery and kept him out of action from November last season. Midfielders Wieffer and Jack Hinshelwood both deputised at right-back for spells last season when Veltman and Lamptey were injured. Wieffer occupied the role in the main game against Wolfsburg. He is becoming increasingly comfortable in the position, but Veltman is still a strong contender to start against Fulham. Hinshelwood, not involved in either game against Wolfsburg because of a minor injury, is scheduled to resume training on Tuesday. Verbruggen had an eventful first outing of pre-season. The Brighton and Dutch No 1 has been nursed back from a knee injury which hampered him during 2024-25. His first touch, clumsily chested into the air as he attempted to deal with a through ball, almost led to an early gift for Wolfsburg. Verbruggen's raised foot caught forward Mohamed Amoura on the shoulder as he tried to redeem the initial error. Advertisement It counted for nothing, as the assistant had already flagged for offside. Verbruggen then demonstrated his capabilities as a shot-stopper with an outstanding save which prevented Wolfsburg from equalising on the half-hour mark. Lovro Majer had a clear sight of goal through the middle but he spread himself to foil the effort with a strong right hand. The goalkeeper also did well in the second half to hold a crisp shot from outside the box by Maximilian Arnold and even better with a strong right hand when the Wolfsburg captain unleashed a drive from distance. But an angled shot by substitute Rogerio went through him for the visitors' 80th minute reply before Verbruggen preserved the lead with a smothering save to deny Kilian Fischer. Hurzeler told The Athletic in Marbella that Verbruggen 'can bring himself to another level'. The hope is that compatriot Jelle ten Rouwelaar, who worked with Verbruggen at Anderlecht and NAC Breda, can bring the best out of the 22-year-old. If that happens then the value of Verbruggen, signed from Anderlecht for £16m two years ago, will soar. Swiss research organisation CIES Football Observatory regard Verbruggen as potentially the most valuable goalkeeper in the world, with a projected worth of £54m. The goalkeeping pecking order has been clarified, the experienced Jason Steele again understudying Verbruggen with Tom McGill as third choice following Championship loan moves for Carl Rushworth (Coventry) and James Beadle (Birmingham City). Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ben Rice's sacrifice fly
Ben Rice lifts a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Aaron Judge and giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning
