Viktor Gyokeres in action on his Arsenal debut against Tottenham (Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Arsenal suffered their first defeat of pre-season as their north London rivals Tottenham beat them 1-0 in a friendly in Hong Kong.
Most fans probably won’t be reading too much into one friendly result, but there’ll still be plenty who are keen to know how certain players got on, especially new striker Viktor Gyokeres as he made his debut.
The Sweden international recently joined Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon after a lengthy transfer saga, and he’ll likely be seen as one of the most exciting signings of the summer after his stunning scoring record during his two seasons in the Portuguese capital.
It didn’t quite happen for Gyokeres today, but he still looked decent in a substitute appearance against Spurs, though overall this Arsenal team looked a long way from its best.
Arsenal player ratings against Tottenham
It wasn’t a memorable game for most of these Arsenal players, but read on to see exactly how they rated…
David Raya – Really poor for the goal that ended up deciding the game, Raya was way too far off his line, having come a long way when he didn’t really need to. Normally a reliable shot-stopper, this was an uncharacteristically chaotic moment from the Spaniard, and one that Mikel Arteta will be hoping he doesn’t repeat too often. 4/10.
Ben White – Still looking like someone in need of regaining full fitness and confidence after an injury-hit season last term, White was decent against Tottenham, but not his usual self with the quality of his passing and crossing. 5/10.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – So impressive for much of last season, Lewis-Skelly has shown that he still needs to improve in some areas and keep his concentration a bit better. He’s been seen doing some extra work on his crossing with Gabriel Heinze in pre-season training, and fans will hope he generally looks a bit more up to speed once the competitive football starts. 5.5/10.
William Saliba – Reasonably solid as you’d expect, and arguably mainly let down by not having regular starters like Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber alongside him, more than anything else. 6/10.
Jakub Kiwior – Also relatively untroubled in what wasn’t exactly a vintage Spurs display either, but Kiwior could perhaps have done more to show that he deserves to be starting more often in the season ahead. 5.5/10.
Declan Rice – Lively as always, but yet to start showing his usual rhythm and quality, which will probably come with more match fitness. 6/10.
Christian Norgaard – Signed as a squad player, Norgaard showed he can do his job without too much fuss, but fans will no doubt be expecting to see more of Martin Zubimendi as a starter in that position. 5.5/10.
Martin Odegaard – Missed a good chance and arguably just a little below par again as he’s often looked in pre-season so far. Probably not too big a concern just yet, but Arsenal fans will want to see some improvement quickly. 5/10.
Bukayo Saka – Even when not at his best, Saka can light up a game with some great moments, but overall it wasn’t quite his day, and Gooners will be worried that he had to go off with an injury. 6/10.
Gabriel Martinelli – Social media was full of Arsenal fans calling for a signing on the left wing after the game, which pretty much tells you all you need to know. Martinelli looked like an elite player in the making just a few years ago, but he hasn’t improved since then and it now looks like the Gunners need someone like Eberechi Eze or Rodrygo to take them up a level. 5/10.
Kai Havertz – Not a performance to worry Viktor Gyokeres much, let’s just say that. Havertz generally struggled to impose himself on the game, making life pretty easy for the Spurs defenders. 5/10.
SUBS:
Viktor Gyokeres – Genuinely probably the most impressive of Arsenal’s performers, even if only on for a relatively brief cameo. The Swedish striker immediately looked comfortable and in-sync with his teammates, and was unlucky not to get an assist after some good work and an inviting ball into the box. 7/10.
Max Dowman – Another player who gave Arsenal a bit more spark, 15-year-old Max Dowman continued his fine pre-season, even if he couldn’t make more of an impact on the result here. 6.5/10.
