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Arsenal and Newcastle United capped off the Singapore Festival of Football playing out a thrilling 3-2 contest with the match going the way of the Londoners at the National Stadium on Sunday (July 27).
The match opened with a treat for Gooners, as blockbuster signing Viktor Gyökeres received a rousing reception during his official introduction to the Arsenal faithful.
“I hope (the signing has a transformative effect on the team). We have a few of them as well in this window, and that’s what we want to create as well. Internally, it can create competition … We want our supporters as excited as possible, we’re really believing that the team can deliver,” head coach Mikel Arteta said of his €76 million (S$114.3 million) acquisition.
The Swede will provide competition for Kai Havertz, who played for an hour against Newcastle and got an assist.
“We do have plans, we do have our options, and we’re increasing both the quality and depth of the squad with the signings we’ve made. We’re super happy to have Viktor with us. It’s been a long journey to get him here. He’s been incredible. Very clear from the beginning about where he wanted to play, and I could feel his passion from day one when we first spoke. You can see it in the boys and in the environment. Everyone’s very excited about his arrival,” Arteta added.
But it was the Toon Army who had the first cheer of the night, as £55 million ($75m) summer arrival Anthony Elanga needed just six minutes to make his mark in black and white.
The winger wrong-footed Arsenal keeper David Raya as his deft chip went in off the post.
Despite admitting to some sluggishness in their early training sessions in Singapore, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe was not surprised by the early initiative from his charges.
“We were hoping to play well today, certainly needed to step up and overall perform level from the Celtic game. It was a lot of positives for us today. Still some things to iron out in our game and improve on, especially the goals we conceded, they weren’t great. But overall, we kept going to the end, very difficult conditions to play in, so full credit to the players.”
But the lack of firepower in the offence was apparent with Danish forward William Osula filling the gap left by star striker Alexander Isak, who is reportedly nursing a thigh injury and was absent from the tour.
While Howe was satisfied with the 21-year-old’s performance, he did not shy away from acknowledging the drop in quality up front.
“Naturally, I think we’re going to miss the player’s quality in the group. We’re going to feel that. There’s no denying that, and I can’t sit here and claim that they won’t. But a very professional group of players, and they’re doing great as far as I can see in terms of managing the situation,” he said. “I thought today was a much better performance from him compared to the Celtic game. He looked fitter and sharper, which is a result of the work we’ve done. He had a couple of chances to score, his attitude was excellent, and he looked hungry, getting into the right positions to try and find the net.”
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino, who had filled in up front late last season amid injuries to attackers Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, pulled one back in the 33rd minute with a late run into the box to latch onto Havertz’s lay-off and finished off with a composed side-footed effort past Nick Pope.
Two minutes later, an unfortunate Alex Murphy own goal handed Arsenal the lead, which they took into the changing room.
Despite nine outfield changes after the interval, it was Newcastle that drew first blood in the second period when Jacob Murphy’s outside-of-the-box shot found the bottom right corner in the 58th minute.
In the 83rd minute, Arsenal won a penalty after teen starlet Max Dowman was brought down by Joelinton, and captain Martin Odegaard stepped up to convert the spot kick to make it 3-2, delighting the 38,720 fans in attendance.
Howe expressed his gratitude to the fans for turning up in support.
“For us, anyone we see in a black and white shirt is gratefully received. We want to promote the club in a good light, have people enjoy watching us play, and hopefully build an attachment to us. These tours are important. They’re tough on the players because of the heat and the intensity of the games, but they’re something we relish, and we’re very proud to be here.”
Newcastle United will travel to South Korea to face Ulsan Hyundai, while Arsenal continue their preparations in Hong Kong with a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at Kai Tak Stadium on the books.
However, Arteta did not confirm whether Gyökeres would feature in the North London derby.
“Well, I think he hasn’t had a single training session with the team since their last game when they became champions. We’ll assess him tomorrow with all the medical checks. He’s looking good, but we need to get him up to speed.”
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