Arsenal in action as pre-season friendlies begin

We’ll be bringing you Scout Notes on every single friendly involving a Premier League club this summer as we gear up for Gameweek 1.

These articles will get more detailed – and more useful – the closer we get to the start of the 2023/24 season as preferred formations, favoured personnel, injury concerns and form assets become apparent.

We’re also keeping tabs on the minutes played in each of these warm-up fixtures, with only Premium Members of Fantasy Football Scout able to access this information at the bottom of this article.

It’s important to stress that, at this time of the summer, plenty of academy products get ample game-time. This is true again this year, as players involved in international duty in June were given a belated break and most of them haven’t been featuring in the very early pre-season friendlies.

ARSENAL 1-1 WATFORD

• Goals: Marquinhos
• Assists: Cozier-Duberry

Match highlights here

Ben White (£5.5m), Gabriel Magalhães (£5.0m) and Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) were among the Arsenal regulars who featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Watford on Saturday.

From the footage available, Jesus played on the right of the attack with Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m) through the middle.

With internationals such as Bukayo Saka (£8.5m), Kai Havertz (£7.5m) and Martin Odegaard (£8.5m) all permitted to return to pre-season training a little later and not involved after their participation in the June internationals, there was a mix of first-teamers and rookies taking to the pitch.

The Gunners were also missing several of their squad who ended 2022/23 on the treatment table but there is seemingly positive news on that front, with Gabriel Martinelli (£8.0m), William Saliba (£5.0m), Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.5m) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.0m) all spotted back in training of some variety over the last week.

“And now I can’t wait to play again. I’m so, so hungry to play on. I can’t wait to be on the pitch.

“I had a little break and after I went to Marbella to do my rehab with the staff. It was good but of course I was waiting for the pre-season.

“I’m so, so, so hungry because I didn’t play for four months and I didn’t help my team. So I hope I won’t have an injury this season, I want to be here all this season with the team.” – William Saliba

Arsenal’s only goal against Watford came from winger Marquinhos (£4.5m), who followed up the rebound after an Amario Cozier-Duberry shot could only be parried.

Arsenal XI: Okonkwo (Hillson HT), White (Norton-Cuffy 60’), Magalhães (Walter HT), Holding (Kirk 60’), Soares (Sousa HT), Bandeira (Oulad-M’Hand HT), Lewis-Skelly (Henry-Francis HT), Trossard (Cozier-Duberry HT), Jesus (Biereth HT, Sagoe Jr. 76’), Nelson (Nwaneri HT), Nketiah (Marquinhos HT).

VITORIA SC 1-2 WOLVES

• Goals: Cunha, Farmer
• Assists: Sarabia

BURNLEY 3-2 FLEETWOOD TOWN

• Goals: Rodriguez, Davies, Mellon

BURNLEY 1-0 BURTON ALBION

• Goal: Socoliche

We’ve grouped the three matches above together because they were all behind-closed-doors friendlies where no line-up information was available.

Very little footage from any of the games exists, either.

Burnley had got pre-season underway with a 3-2 victory over Fleetwood Town on the first day of July, Jay Rodriguez (£5.5m) on target for the Championship winners.

The Clarets say a different XI was used in each half.

A week later, a late goal from recent academy signing Basilio Rieno Socoliche settled matters against Burton Albion.

Again, there was no detail supplied about the players involved.

Wolves are in Portugal for a pre-season training camp and defeated Vitoria 2-1 in their first kickabout.

Wolves have long-term absentees Chiquinho (£4.5m) and Sasa Kalajdzic (£5.0m) with them in Iberia, two summer 2022 signings whose involvement in the campaign just gone was ruined by serious injury.

Chiquinho teed up Wolves’ second goal for youngster Owen Farmer.

Matheus Cunha had earlier tapped in from a fine Pablo Sarabia (£5.0m) pass/cross.