Arsenal rounded off their Stateside tour with an impressive 4-0 win against Chelsea at the Camping World Stadium.
Gabriel Jesus continued his hot streak with a fourth goal in as many games to open the scoring. Played in by Xhaka, the Brazilian bore down on goal on the angle before beautifully dinking Edouard Mendy.
Arsenal’s press forces Chelsea into a loose pass, with Granit Xhaka sliding through to Gabriel Jesus, who chips the ball over Mendy to give Arsenal the lead. 😍 #afc pic.twitter.com/BAUew29Puk
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 24, 2022
🍟 @gabrieljesus9 pic.twitter.com/2sIRwxBxHf
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 24, 2022
It didn’t take long for the Gunners to double their lead. Gabriel Martinelli split the Blues’ defence with a perfectly weighted ball and Martin Odegaard took a touch before sliding home.
Gabriel Martinelli slides in Martin Ødegaard, who calmly slots it past Mendy to double Arsenal’s lead. 😍 pic.twitter.com/QUkOYRodkf
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 24, 2022
The goals continued to flow after the break. Saka caused mischief off the right wing before scoring on the rebound after Mendy had parried efforts from both Martinelli and Xhaka.
Bukayo Saka eventually scores the rebound, giving Arsenal a commanding 3-0 lead over Chelsea, after a string of saves from Mendy. 😍 #afc pic.twitter.com/JCVkdtMiyk
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 24, 2022
An unmarked Albert Sambi Lokonga rounded things off in stoppage time heading home Cedric’s cross from the right.
Cedric Soares’ delicious cross is headed home by Albert Sambi Lokonga to make it 4-0, who kisses the Arsenal badge in celebration. 😍 #afc pic.twitter.com/ob7UxuJsMw
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 24, 2022
In front of 63,000 supporters, this was a performance of poise and verve from the Gunners who debuted Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back and saw William Saliba again impress in the centre of defence.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta said: “As you could see there are a lot of positives to take from the game. The way we played, the intensity we showed, the way we were trying to show who we are as a team. But at the same time, it’s just a test match. Don’t get carried away.
“There are still a lot of things that we have to get better at, and do better. But I think it’s good to get some momentum, finish the tour in the right way, give some enjoyment to our fans and everybody that’s been contributing to make this tour happen. Now it’s time to go back to London, to focus and keep making improvements and steps forwards.”
The Gunners will fly back to the UK today to prepare for next weekend’s Emirates Cup clash with Sevilla. Soon enough, we’ll be at Crystal Palace hoping to hit the ground running in the Premier League.
On we go.