Ethan Nwaneri passes ultimate Arsenal audition as Gabriel Martinelli sends Mikel Arteta message

Arsenal and Manchester United treated fans to a much more interesting tie compared to the Gunners’ opening US pre-season clash. The SoFi Stadium played host to the two Premier League giants as budding starlets, injury concerns and goals dominated proceedings.

Rasmus Hojlund gave Manchester United the lead having beaten Ayden Heaven in a foot race before slotting a low strike below Karl Hein. However, the Gunners hit back through Gabriel Jesus as he slotted in a great cross from youngster Ethan Nwaneri.

Gabriel Martinelli won the game with a late goal after some great cameos from Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand and Josh Nichols. With that said, football.london was watching all the key aspects of the game and has summarised the highlights from the evening’s events.

Passing the biggest audition yet

Ethan Nwaneri certainly stood out for supporters on the night. It was exciting to see him start in a team which saw Fabio Vieira benched. This perhaps was quite telling for the faith that Mikel Arteta has in the 17-year-old and the scope to the near future.

Starting in a midfield tandem with Martin Odegaard, supported by Jorginho, he operated on the left side supporting Leandro Trossard. That said, it was evident that he had been given a license to roam on the night and that he did.

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He popped up with a combination of passes on the right with Nelson just before an attempt on goal which Andre Onana saved right before United’s opener. However, the movement and cross for the equaliser was superb and called on his stronger left foot to do the work.

There is a decreasing list of reasons why Nwaneri shouldn’t be getting some Premier League starts this season. Who knows, maybe we will indeed see the teenager given his chance of a start in the coming campaign and there would be very few to deny him that.

Gabriel Jesus’ reminder

I postured at the beginning of the summer that Gabriel Jesus had somewhat gone under the radar for fans. With all the talk of a potential striker signing being on the cards, as can happen with ‘new toy syndrome’ the existing players can become yesterday’s news.

Jesus though has worked hard this pre-season both with and without the help of the club and his effort has clearly made an impact. He looks sharp and ready to take on the new season with the hope that he can avoid the prevalence of injuries that have plagued his Arsenal career so far.

Kai Havertz has just rejoined the group and will be looking to fight back for the spot. There remains talk even of a striker still being a possibility during the window too giving Jesus even more competition.

However, if he can continue to score goals then he will keep the rivals at bay. The benefit he has is his manager Arteta has always shown faith in him and that shows little sign of waning so far.

Reiss regret

I am troubled about sounding too much like a broken record after saying similar after the game with Bournemouth but Reiss Nelson had yet another good display. I am not one for getting my ‘Nelson we want you to stay’ placard out just yet but there is a feeling that for a reported fee of around £15million, Leicester City could be getting a bargain.

Again the winger was lively, confident on the ball and quick. He created chances and possessed the speed that was needed in a pre-season game to stand out.

Some mature touches in his own half, when under pressure also helped him to gain many viewers’ attention. Despite this positivity, the consensus will remain that a summer move is probably the right call and it can only be at another club he would truly give the Gunners a reason to regret his move.

Positive signs

Gabriel Martinelli endured a difficult campaign with Arsenal as it seemed everyone around him was excelling. Leandro Trossard eventually pushed him out of the side on the left and when he started, he never felt like the player who contributed so much in the prior season.

However, having only rejoined the group a couple of days ago, he was thrust straight into the action with around 20 minutes to go against United. To his credit, he showed exactly the Brazilian flair that was perhaps missing as he scored the winning goal.

A driving and cutting run into the United box ended with a characteristically low driven strike below Andre Onana. If that is what we can expect next season, talk of a future exit – which has been mooted by some – will cease very quickly.