4 things we learned from Arsenal's final pre-season friendly

Arsenal capped off their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 win against Lyon in the Emirates Cup.

The Gunners have emerged as victors in four of their five matches this summer, returning from their USA tour this week to record two final wins back on home soil.

A thumping of Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen was followed by a Sunday stroll when Lyon came to visit.

Here's what we learned from Arsenal's final pre-season friendly.

1. Set piece kings reign supreme

Have you ever had a Football Manager save where you completely break the game by devising a set piece tactic so unstoppably vile it's essentially indefensible?

Well, it turns out Mikel Arteta has done that in real life with Arsenal.

His man-mountain centre-backs, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, scored the only two goals of Sunday's game. The Gunners are going to continue squeezing the life out of corners and free-kicks, and their 19 Premier League opponents are going to have to wise up.

"We are constantly evolving everything we do," Arteta said post-match. "Today we scored from two set-pieces which was good as it gave us confidence. It gives us a platform and a different threat and worry for the opponent. We could have scored a lot of goals from a lot of different situations in the game which is really pleasing to see as well."

2. Oleksandr Zinchenko wins place back...

An excellent 2022/23 debut season with Arsenal was followed by a more maligned 2023/24 campaign for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

As the Gunners focused on improving their defensive stability, the Ukrainian fell out of favour as an attack-first option at left-back.

But lately, he's reminded the Arsenal faithful exactly why Arteta was so keen to bring him in. If the two-decade long wait for a Premier League title is to end, then Zinchenko's contributions in the middle and final thirds are going to be needed.

3. ...But Riccardo Calafiori is ready to snatch it from him

The only major addition Arsenal have made to their squad so far this summer is that of Riccardo Calafiori, who made his debut from the bench against Lyon.

Calafiori fits neatly into the defensive back four that Arteta is trying to build and offers an alternative to Zinchenko, while his proficiency at centre-back will provide adequate cover for Saliba and Gabriel.

"He brings a lot of versatility, because he can play in two or three different positions and especially in attack, he can occupy different spaces because he's a real defender," Arteta said of the Italian.

"When you see his presence, his physicality, how he goes to the duels, he's unbelievable. Obviously, he's done a lot last year and I think he's a player that can improve us."

4. Have Arsenal found the perfect balance?

Arsenal were incredibly unlucky not to have won the Premier League last season, we can't let that get lost to history.

They ripped off an insane run of results from the festive period onwards to ensure the race went to the final day, with Arteta stumbling upon a winning formula that was hard to top.

Though Arsenal remain in the market for an attacker, they shouldn't feel the need to take a risk they don't feel comfortable in taking. They already have enough quality profiles to tear down any team, and continuity could be what gets them over the hump for a major title.

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