Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side swept Bayer Leverkusen aside in their latest pre-season friendly.
The Gunners put on an emphatic display at The Emirates to beat Leverkusen 4-1 in what was their penultimate pre-season game.
Arsenal found themselves two up inside 10 minutes after goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus added to their lead just after the half-hour mark.
Mikel Arteta introduced four changes at the break and Arsenal extended their lead through former Leverkusen star Kai Havertz, who was praised by German press after the match.
The German champions, who went unbeaten in the Bundesliga last season, clawed one back through Adam Hlozek with 15 minutes remaining.
Arteta was full of praise for Havertz and Jesus after the full-time whistle, with the Spaniard hailing their “chemistry”.
Xabi Alonso on Mikel Arteta
It was an impressive display from Arteta’s side and the Gunners look all set to spring another title challenge this season.
Arteta, who has employed some bizarre coaching methods at Arsenal, has transformed the North London side since his appointment in 2019.
Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso played alongside Arteta before the duo entered management, and he was asked to describe what characteristics made his former Spain teammate a good manager.
Alonso replied with just one word: “Competitive.”
He added “He has always been a competitive animal. Here you can see how he has developed a great project.
“But at a young age you could see that he wanted to win and he was preparing for that. It’s a fruit of many decisions that he has taken to reach the level he has reached at Arsenal.”
Is this Arsenal’s year?
Arsenal have been pipped to the Premier League title by Manchester City twice in successive years, but the Gunners refuse to lie down.
The additions of Riccardo Calafiori and David Raya have addressed a few fragilities in Arsenal’s squad and Arteta’s squad look locked in this summer as they prepare to go head-to-head with City once again.
READ MORE: ‘Hurt’ Granit Xhaka reacts as Arsenal thrash Bayer Leverkusen in ’emotional’ return
With harsh lessons learned from the past two seasons, Arteta’s side seem to only be getting stronger and there is a growing feeling that this could be their year.
All will be revealed shortly, starting with their first fixture of the season against Wolves next Saturday.
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