Arsenal took a closer step to the start of the new Premier League season by beating Manchester United on Sunday.
Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were the two goalscorers for Arsenal in the pre-season friendly at the SoFi Stadium in California.
Manchester United opened the scoring after just ten minutes when Rasmus Hojlund charged down the left-hand side, outmuscling his man, before squeezing the ball past Karl Hein.
But it didn’t take Arsenal too long to equalise, with Jesus levelling the scores after 26 minutes and Martinelli netting the winner four minutes from time.
Given that this is pre-season – regardless of the end result – the game still went to penalties, with Manchester United giving themselves something to cheer about because they came out on top.
But Arteta will be pleased with his team’s display because that all-important title is just inches away from them.
Arsenal missed out on the Premier League title on the last day of the previous campaign, with many now discussing what they need to get one over on Manchester City.
One ongoing discussion has been that number nine – Arsenal have been told to sign the ‘remarkable’ Ivan Toney.
But at the moment, it’s Jesus, who has had up and down injury issues since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, deploying that role against Man United.