BAY BYE
Arsenal 4 Bayer Leverkusen 1: Gunners run rings around German champions as rampant Havertz scores against former club
Gunners welcomed back their former captain before putting on a ruthless display
ARSENAL’S first-half masterclass saw them cruise to victory over Bundesliga Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen in the Emirates Cup.
The Gunners put out a strong starting XI and scored twice in 120 seconds through Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard inside the opening 10 minutes.
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Gabriel Jesus then netted a third with a brilliant breakaway solo finish in the 38th minute and Kai Havertz grabbed another after the break to end the contest.
Leverkusen nicked a 76th minute consolation on the counter via Adam Hlozek.
Three Lions stars Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were among four half-time substitutions from boss Mikel Arteta as Arsenal saw out a comfortable win back in North London.
Skipper Martin Odegaard came off just after the hour mark after requiring treatment, but did not look to be carrying a serious knock.
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The big team news before kick-off was the absence of new £42million signing Riccardo Calafiori, as well as Dutch left back Jurrien Timber, sparking injury concerns.
However, SunSport understands that Italian defender Calafiori is still being eased into any sort of game time after joining the squad at the end of their States tour on July 29.
Timber meanwhile was also left out as a precaution with a small foot issue, but not expected to be of any concern.
Both could feature against Lyon on Sunday ahead of their Premier League opener against Wolves on August 17.
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The returning Granit Xhaka was given a standing ovation by the fans upon his return for the first time since leaving the club last summer.
But Xhaka and Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen looked well behind their opponents in their pre-season fitness levels and preparation as Arsenal ran riot – starting in the eighth minute.
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Zinchenko picked out Havertz roaming down the left with a chipped ball and the German’s cut-back was dummied by Trossard for the Ukrainian full-back to drive low into the corner.
Less than a minute later and Trossard was off the mark with a brilliantly-devised curling effort from close-range after Odegaard picked off a poor pass out from Leverkusen keeper Matej Kovar before Havertz and Jesus exchanged passes inside the box.
A dominant Arsenal continued to push with their attack clicking and Jesus – who looks to have finally recovered from his knee and hamstring issues that plagued last season – latched onto a poor throw-in and sprinted from his own half to then cut in and finish past Kovar.
Alongside Rice and Saka, Jakub Kiwior and academy lad Myles Lewis-Skelly came on at the break for Jesus, Zinchenko, William Saliba and Fabio Vieira.
It did not take long for Saka to get his eye in down the right, skinning Arthur and seeing his low delivery intercepted by Xhaka into the path of an awaiting Havertz in the 65th minute.
Further changes to the line-up saw the game ease out, but Arsenal did end the match with three of their back four coming from the academy – Myles-Skelly, Ayden Heaven and Josh Nichols.
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Leverkusen left their mark with Hlozek breaking through the middle before dinking over Raya, but that will hardly worry Arteta.
Arsenal look fit, sharp and hungry. The new season cannot come soon enough.
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