Arsenal 2-3 Villarreal: Nicolas Pepe scores on Emirates return as Gunners lose again in pre-season | OneFootball

The Gunners dominated for long stretches but were undone by the clinical visitors

Influential: Ethan Nwaneri impressed in attack

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The Gunners had hoped for a confidence-lifting outing as they made their grand return to the Emirates after spending two weeks touring Asia, but were frustrated as they fell to an unlikely two-goal deficit after half an hour by way of goals from Nicolas Pepe and Edouard Eyong.

Christian Norgaard headed home for his first Arsenal goal before half-time, but Arnaut Danjuma’s second-half strike put the result well out of the hosts’ reach, with Martin Odegaard’s 76th-minute penalty a mere consolation.

Viktor Gyokeres showed some signs of promise as he made his first start, but will need more time to bed in with his new team-mates ahead of the new Premier League campaign. Noni Madueke also got his first taste of Arsenal action with a brief second-half cameo, injecting some fresh energy into the side but ultimately falling short in the push for a late equaliser.

Arsenal started the match positively, going close through Bukayo Saka in the early stages, but could not convert their pressure into clear-cut chances as they gave goalkeeper Luiz Júnior little to worry about.

Their wasteful possession was soon punished. Former Arsenal man Nicolas Pepe, who left the Emirates under a cloud in 2023 after failing to live up to the weight of his £72million price tag, hit a poacher’s goal to open the scoring against the run of play. William Saliba failed to deal with a low cross, which bobbled across the area for the Frenchman to fire home from close range.

Despite trailing, Arsenal were unperturbed and continued to press on in search of an opener, keeping their guests very much under the cosh.

But history repeated itself. Raya was unlucky as his save from Gerard Moreno’s shot was deflected perfectly into Eyong’s path, and he finished to double Villarreal’s lead.

Christian Norgaard headed home from a Gabriel Martinelli corner moments later to perpetuate Arsenal’s reliance on set-pieces and halve the deficit, but the Gunners trailed at the break.

The direction of play was not much changed in the second half, as Arsenal continued to attack in droves. Gyokeres forced another good save from Junior before being withdrawn, ending his full Arsenal debut goalless.

It took just one second-half chance for Villarreal to extend their lead. A lightning counter-attack from the Yellow Submarine set Danjuma free into a one-on-one against Kepa Arrizabalaga, who could not keep out the former Tottenham man’s cross-goal finish.

Odegaard’s late penalty, won by Dowman, inspired a desperate pursuit of an equaliser as the match dwindled, but despite the Gunners' full-scale assault on Villarreal, the Spaniards held firm.

The evening went from bad to worse for Arsenal after the match in a novelty penalty shootout, during which Madueke and Gabriel both saw efforts saved as the Gunners were beaten again.