Arsenal new boy steals show in Singapore win over Newcastle without kicking a ball | OneFootball

Arsenal and Newcastle United drew a crowd just shy of 40,000 to watch the Gunners beat their Premier League rivals. Eddie Howe’s Toon Army turned out in force to try to compete with the vast Arsenal contingent, at the Singapore National Stadium.

Arsenal won the Sunday night showdown as both sides featured new signings for the fans to see. Martin Zubimendi started his first game for Arsenal and it was a chance for Newcastle’s Asia-based fans to witness Anthony Elanga play too.

Elanga shot Newcastle into an early lead before Arsenal hit back with a quick-fire double through Mikel Merino and an Alex Murphy own goal. A second-half Jacob Murphy strike levelled things up, and Martin Odegaard secured a deserved victory for Arsenal with a late penalty.

The biggest cheer of the night, however, came before a ball had been kicked when new Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres walked to the middle of the pitch in his new NO.14 shirt and waved to delirious supporters.

Arsenal supporters in Hong Kong might get a chance to see Gyokeres play when they fly there to face arch-rivals Tottenham next Thursday.

These are some of the key things Arsenal’s new Super Swede witnessed watching on from the stands….

THE RIVALRY IS REAL

These two teams have developed a feisty edge to their rivalry in recent years and this pre-season friendly had a rare edge to it. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon both came in for testing tackles. Mikel Arteta was raging at the Singapore referee after Saka appeared to get hit in the face and new Arsenal signing Zubimendi was even booked for a challenge on Gordon.

ELITE ELANGA

It was a bit of a scuffed shot, but Anthony Elanga’s first goal in the black and white stripes of Newcastle marked a great start for the big money signing from Nottingham Forest. He is no replacement for Alexander Isak, assuming the star striker does get his wish for a move this summer, but the fellow Sweden international team-mate of Gyokeres seems to have adapted quickly to Eddie Howe’s tactics, and his pace caused Arsenal a number of problems. What is it about Sweden and all this amazing attacking talent?

NEW ARSENAL MIDFIELD

We got a first look at Arsenal’s new look midfield for the last 20 minutes or so when Declan Rice came on to replace Mikel Merino. That left Zubimendi as the anchor man with Martin Odegaard and Rice playing in front of him. Rice and Odegaard, who was shooting at every opportunity, will clearly enjoy much more attacking freedom this season based on what we saw and Zubimendi makes Arsenal just that little bit tighter at the back as a defensive shield. When Brentford signing Christian Norgaard came on for Zubimendi, it offered another insight into how Arsenal will be able to rotate players in the new season.

BELIEVE THE HYPE

Arsenal substitute Max Dowman is 15 and still a schoolboy. He is not 16 until this New Year’s Eve. But he already looks every inch a Premier League player, going past opponents at will from his very first touch. His most significant contribution was an 83rd-minute run that was ended by a Joelinton foul and resulted in a penalty for Odegaard to strike home the deserved winning goal.