Arsenal defeated Newcastle 3-2 in a preseason game played the National stadium, Singapore today. Softfootball watched on as the Gunners showed supremacy over the Magpies; something they could not achieve last season. Newcastle defeated Arsenal in the semifinals of the Carabao League Cup last season.
Goals from Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard and an own goal helped Arsenal claim the win in front of a packed stadium that also witnessed the for a first time, sights of of Swedish star, Viktor Gyokeres in an Arsenal shirt.
The Gyokeres moment was posted on the Gunners’ official and verified X handle. Watch the moment below.
Despite the win, the Gunners had some concerns as Italian defender, Riccardo Calafiori was subbed off due to injury concern early in the second half. Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta gave an update on Calafiori’s situation after the game.
He said:
Yeah, he said that he felt a little tweak, so I don’t know how big it is but hopefully not.
The gaffer also reacted to the newest addition to the club, Gyokeres and why Cristhian Mosquera was not in the squad despite being in training with the team.
The Spanish boss explained Gyokeres’ arrival:
Yeah, we do have plans, we do have a lot of options and we are increasing the quality of the squad and the depth of the squad with all the signings that we’ve done. We are super happy to have Viktor with us, it’s been a long journey to get him over here. He’s been incredible, he was very clear from the beginning where he wanted to play and how passionate I felt from him from day one when we first spoke. You can see the boys, you can see the environment as well, very excited with his arrival.
He also explained Mosquera’s situation:
Because he needs to start to pick up the feelings again. He played the under 21 Euros, then he didn’t really train with Valencia then that signing period was extended a little bit and the conditions here are really tough and there’s a lot of information for him, a lot of physical demands that we put in so we’re going to have to manage him slowly.
The Gunners will finish their preseason tour in Asia with a match up against North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspurs on Tuesday.
