Arsenal's next three pre-season fixtures after Man United defeat amid Barcelona fear
It's a case of four down and three to go for Arsenal with regard to this summer's pre-season schedule.
The Gunners' preparations for the 2023/24 campaign actually got underway with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Watford that was played at the club's London Colney training base at the beginning of the month as Marquinhos — fresh off returning from a loan spell with Norwich City — netted in a 1-1 draw.
From there, the north London outfit jetted out to Germany for a pre-season training camp at adidas HQ and the trip culminated in a draw against Nurnberg as Bukayo Saka got on the scoresheet, youngsters Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri caught the eye and Kai Havertz made his first appearance since joining from Chelsea.
After a brief return to the UK, a 29-man Arsenal squad named by manager Mikel Arteta touched down in the United States of America last weekend and among the travelling party were fellow summer signings Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice.
The pair made their debuts as second-half substitutes in the 5-0 thrashing of an MLS All-Stars XI — managed by former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney — as Gabriel Jesus netted a stunning opener whilst Havertz completed the rout with his first goal for the club.
Speaking of the Red Devils, they were the Gunners' second opponents of the US Tour 2023 in a fixture played at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday night. Unfortunately for Arteta's side, they fell to a 2-0 defeat in normal time as a couple of errors were duly punished by Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho before losing a penalty shootout.
Mikel Arteta ready to stick with Arsenal's Kai Havertz experiment as Smith Rowe stakes claim
With plenty to work on, specifically, the midfield trio of
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