Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Nurnberg in their opening game of preseason, despite an early goal from Bukayo Saka in Germany on Thursday.
Saka, who scored 14 goals and added 11 assists as Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season, got his side’s preparations for the new season off to a perfect start when converting an assist from Ben White after just seven minutes.
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United States striker Folarin Balogun almost doubled Arsenal’s lead shortly after coming off the substitutes’ bench but was denied by the post. Almost immediately the home side made the most of their reprieve, capitalising on a mishap in the Arsenal defence that saw Jorginho unwittingly put the ball into own net from long range.
“There are a lot of positive things that we can take, especially the way we played in the first half — the tempo, the composure, the commitment that we showed,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told the club’s website.
“We had some big chances to score more goals at the end, and mistakes are a part of football because they haven’t given much to be fair, but it was great to see our young players playing as well and doing really well in an environment that is challenging.
“We only had three training sessions with the majority of this group and the boys that played only 45 minutes, it was the maximum for some of them — it was more than enough. We picked up a few injuries, which we want to avoid, so let’s go week by week now.”
Both teams made a number of changes to their lineups in the second half, including Arteta handing a first appearance in an Arsenal shirt to summer signing from Chelsea, Kai Havertz.
There was still no sighting, though, of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, whose expected transfers from West Ham United and Ajax Amsterdam, respectively, have yet to be formally announced.
Arsenal’s preseason will next head to the U.S., beginning with Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.
“We’re going to play some big teams [in the U.S.], and it’s going to be really exciting from the support that we’re going to be having and playing in the stadiums, so we’re looking forward to it.”
