Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) and Evanilson (£7.0m) both found the back of the net on Saturday, as Arsenal and Bournemouth concluded their pre-season preparations.
The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points are discussed in this Scout Notes article.
- READ MORE: FPL pre-season: £4.0m wing-backs, Dubravka latest + Darlow v Perri
- READ MORE: FPL pre-season: Gordon injury, Isak latest + De Cuyper goal
ARSENAL 3-0 ATHLETIC CLUB
- Goals: Gyokeres, Saka, Havertz
- Assists: Zubimendi, Martinelli, Saka
GYOKERES OFF THE MARK
Arsenal concluded their pre-season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Athletic Club.
Gyokeres put the Gunners in front, nodding in his first Arsenal goal from a whipped Martin Zubimendi (£5.5m) cross.
He almost added a second, too, but his diving header was tipped onto the post.
With three shots and some superb link-up play, this was a promising display.
“That’s his nature, I think everything that he does, his movement, the way he times his runs, the way he predicts the next move and where the space can be and where the ball is going to land, that’s the instinct that he has, that’s why he’s scored so many goals in the last few seasons so that’s not a coincidence, it’s his ability and he’s constantly looking for it.
“I think his goals, his threat, I think he pins both centre backs, he’s a player that when you’re living with a space, one against one, he’s going to destroy you. So he’s going to create a lot of space as well for us and yeah, the moment that in any situation there is a player there that can score a goal. It’s certain he’s going to add a different kind of threat and options to score goals from probably a situation that before we didn’t have the opportunity to do so.” – Mikel Arteta on Viktor Gyokeres
After a very decent shift, Gyokeres was replaced in the 71st minute by Kai Havertz (£7.5m), who completed the scoring late on.
Mikel Arteta is now faced with a decision: should he start Gyokeres or Havertz against Manchester United in Gameweek 1?
“It’s great to see both of them scoring. It’s a good problem to have.” – Mikel Arteta
SAKA REMINDER
Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) currently sits in just over 15% of Fantasy squads, but he provided a timely reminder of his qualities at the Emirates.
The winger doubled Arsenal’s lead before the break. He also provided the assist for Havertz’s late strike.
A dynamic presence down the right, Saka’s ability to either cut inside or hit the byline terrorised the opposition full-back.
“… at any moment we can attack the backs and be very dangerous and that will create a lot of space for many other players inside.” – Mikel Arteta
On the left, Gabriel Martinelli (£7.0m) and Noni Madueke (£7.0m) played a half each in Leandro Trossard’s (£7.0m) absence.
Martinelli assisted Saka’s strike and is probably the favourite to start at Old Trafford.
As for Trossard, Arteta provided an update on the Belgian’s fitness after full-time:
“I think he’s going to be [okay] in a few days, yeah, a little niggle in the groin. But he should be fine.” – Mikel Arteta on Leandro Trossard
ZUBIMENDI PROMISE
Zubimendi, Declan Rice (£6.5m) and Martin Odegaard (£8.0m) started together for the first time on Saturday, and they looked superb.
The impressive Zubimendi was deployed at the base of Arteta’s midfield, but he often swapped positions with Rice, a dynamic which was particularly easy on the eye.
Odegaard kept to his usual spot in and around the right half-space.
Notably, Zubimendi almost got a second assist later in the match, while Rice offered a threat with some of his trademark late box-crashing runs.
All in all, the trio’s performance was a huge positive.
“Yeah, especially with the qualities that they have and the way they can complement each other in that space, we saw another evolution today on that and things that the team can really benefit from to be much more unpredictable and be a much more threat, especially from these inside positions.” – Mikel Arteta
Elsewhere, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m) looked fit as he started a match for the first time in pre-season, completing 63 minutes. It suggests he’ll be ready for next week’s clash at Old Trafford.
Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber (Lewis-Skelly 65), Saliba, Gabriel (Mosquera 63), Calafiori (White 46); Zubimendi, Odegaard (Nwaneri 83), Rice (Merino 83); Saka, Martinelli (Madueke 46), Gyokeres (Havertz 71)
BOURNEMOUTH 1-1 REAL SOCIEDAD
BOURNEMOUTH 0-0 REAL SOCIEDAD
- Goal: Evanilson
- Assist: Ouattara
EVANILSON GOAL, PETROVIC PEN SAVE + £4.0M HILL
Bournemouth contested two warm-up matches on Saturday.
The first, a friendly held behind closed doors at the club’s training facility, saw Dango Ouattara’s (£6.0m) cross slammed home by Evanilson.
Further details are scarce, but we do know Hamed Traore (£4.5m) later struck the post.
In the afternoon clash, which took place at the Vitality Stadium, Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) made his home debut and saved a penalty.
Fellow new arrivals Adrien Truffert (£4.5m) and Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.5m) also featured.
Truffert conceded the penalty but posed a threat in the final-third, while Junior Kroupi nearly scored when a clearance deflected off him and almost went into the net.
A breakthrough failed to arrive, however, despite further chances.
David Brooks (£5.0m) and Marcus Tavernier (£5.5m) both had efforts saved, while Antoine Semenyo (£7.0m) was not far from finding the top corner after being picked out by Marcos Senesi (£4.5m).
With Illia Zabarnyi (£5.0m) on the verge of a move to Paris Saint-Germain, Senesi was solid alongside budget option James Hill (£4.0m) at the back.
Nevertheless, the likely arrival of centre-back Bafode Diakite from Lille for £35m doesn’t exactly bode well for Hill’s long-term prospects.
IRAOLA ON KLUIVERT, CHRISTIE + SINISTERRA
There was no Justin Kluivert (£7.0m) again for Bournemouth on Saturday.
Iraola later admitted the Dutchman still isn’t training and that his recovery is taking much longer than anticipated.
“Justin is going slower than we thought. He did in the first game a very small calf injury. We thought he could even be able to play the last games in the US but the truth is he’s having some issues and he’s not going as quick as we expected. It shouldn’t be long. It should be already solved. But he’s not training with us still.” – Andoni Iraola on Justin Kluivert
Iraola also provided updates on Ryan Christie (£5.0m) and Luis Sinisterra (£5.0m), who have failed to feature at all in pre-season.
“Sini has started training with us. It was probably too early for today but I think he could have played today some minutes.
“And Ryan Christie, we expect him to train this week. It’s true that he has been out a lot of time, he has been training on his own, has been doing his own things. It’s not like he’s starting from zero.
“But the plan is that Monday if everything goes well he starts with the team and I think Sini, Ryan could be let’s say training with us next week. But it’s true that they’ve lost a lot in the preseason and we don’t know where they will be.” – Andoni Iraola
Bournemouth XI: Dennis, Mepham, Scott, Evanilson (Adu-Adjei 79), Ouattara, Smith, Soler, Traore, Billing, Rees-Dottin (Sadi 68), William (Mottoh 86)
Bournemouth XI: Petrovic, Truffert, Senesi, Hill, Araujo, Adams, Winterburn (Sadi 77), Semenyo, Tavernier, Brooks (Silcott-Duberry 80), Kroupi (Adu-Adjei 60)
