Arsenal Friendlies; Saka scores, but Arsenal were held by an equalizer at Nürnberg in opening match of pre-season

Arsenal Friendlies; Saka scores, but Arsenal were held by an equalizer at Nürnberg in opening match of pre-season

Arsenal drew 1-1 with Nurenberg in their opening pre-season match, despite Germany’s Bukayo Saka’s early goal on Thursday.

Saka, who scored 14 goals and added 11 assists as Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season, started his side’s preparations for the new season perfectly when he converted an assist from Ben White after just seven minutes.
American striker Folarin Balogun nearly doubled Arsenal’s lead shortly after coming off the substitutes bench but was denied by the post. Almost immediately, the hosts made the most of the delay, taking advantage of a setback in the Arsenal defense where Jorginho unknowingly shot into his own goal from distance.

“There are many positive things we can address, especially the way we played in the first half – the pace, the composure, the dedication we showed,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told the club’s website. “Eventually we had some great chances to score more goals and mistakes are part of football because to be honest they don’t have much, but it was great to see our young players also playing and doing really well in an environment that’s challenging.

“We only had three training sessions with most of this group and the boys only played 45 minutes, for some of them it was the maximum, it was more than enough. We had a few injuries, which we want to avoid.” , so let’s go week to week now.”

Both sides made a number of changes to their lineups in the second half, including Arteta handing a first appearance in an Arsenal shirt to Chelsea summer signing Kai Havertz.
However, there was still no sign of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, whose intended transfers from West Ham United and Ajax Amsterdam respectively have yet to be formally announced.
Arsenal’s pre-season then heads to the United States, starting with Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game in Washington, DC.

“We’ll be playing some great teams [in the US], and it’s going to be really exciting with the support we’ll have and we’ll be playing in stadiums, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

ALSO READ…

Good News; Arsenal plan ambitious £65m double Man City striker bid and Guardiola uncertain to Arteta’s deal

Arsenal are reportedly considering an ambitious double for Manchester City stars.

The Gunners are expected to be busy with transfers for the duration of the window as Mikel Arteta looks to build on an impressive 2022/23 season.

Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Man City last summer in what proved to be a resounding success at Emirates. Both players played a vital role in approaching the title.
Arsenal are reportedly considering an ambitious double flight for Manchester City stars Julian Alvarez and Kyle Walker this summer.

Now it seems that Arteta wants to repeat that trick next season, but it certainly won’t be easy.
Arsenal have already signed Chelsea striker Kai Havertz and are very close to securing the signing of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
Ajax’s Jurrien Timber will follow Rice through the goal. But Arsenal’s transfer cases are far from closed.

If they are to challenge for the title again, they need depth in key areas, especially as they compete in the Champions League next season.
With that in mind, proven winners like Alvarez and Walker are just the kind of players Arsenal need.
Arsenal “weighs” Man City’s attack…

According to reports from Spain (quoted by Sports Mole), Arsenal are ‘weighing’ whether to launch a double flight for Alvarez and Walker. However, it is claimed that winning the duo will be very difficult. Alvarez only signed a new contract with the Cityzens in March, until 2028.
He put in some impressive performances last season. So far, the world champion has made 49 appearances for Man City in all competitions, scoring 17 goals.

As a result, Pep Guardiola would only consider an €80m (£68.4m) bid for Alvarez, while Arsenal are only willing to pay €60m (£51.3m). million pounds). Walker, on the other hand, has been linked with a move away from the Etihad for some time. Bayern Munich were considered the favorites for his commitment. But Man City have since reacted and offered him a new contract.

However, the England international’s new contract is yet to be signed. This means he could still leave Man City this summer. Arsenal have reportedly approached Manchester City with an offer of €16 million. But this risks being rejected again by Guardiola, who doesn’t want to sell him to the Gunners.
With that in mind, it appears Arteta will have to pay more to bring in the Man City duo.

ALSO READ… 

Arsenal prepare record-breaking Declan Rice offer after transfer deadline TODAY

Arsenal have already seen a bid for Declan Rice rejected but are now looking to make an improved offer which could see West Ham finally sell their coveted captain.

Arsenal are set to make an improved £90m offer for Declan Rice today.

The Gunners are determined to make the West Ham midfielder their primary transfer target in this time slot.

Last week, West Ham rejected an opening offer of £80m plus surcharges as they kicked off the ball to sign the England star. But now they are preparing to return with a new offer which will be worth £90m with surcharges and they hope it progresses.

Rice, 24, is determined to join Arsenal and aims to complete a move to the Emirates by the end of June which should put Arsenal in a strong position. Manchester City have also been linked with Rice, but Arsenal are confident he is in pole position amid doubts over whether Pep Guardiola’s men are really waiting for the West Ham captain.

But Arsenal have a clear plan for Rice, seeing him as an integral part of their summer plans and as a potential successor to Grant Xhaka, who is expected to join Bayer Leverkusen once Mikel Arteta is able to sign new midfielders. ground.

Rice has been given the green light to leave West Ham if a Champions League club can meet his price demands.

Arsenal to make second offer for Declan Rice on Tuesday

Arsenal really appreciate Rice’s ball skills as well as his versatility as he can play in a deeper midfield, as an energetic box-to-box player and also as a midfielder.

Rice helped West Ham win the Europa Conference League and it seems like the perfect way to say goodbye to the London stadium this summer. After the European Cup triumph, CEO David Sullivan said: “We promised him he could go. He carried on with all his heart. You can’t wish for a man who has shown more commitment to us this season.”

“In due time he will have to step in and we will have to get a replacement – ​​or more replacements. We don’t want that.” We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago. He refused. Puffy

READ ALSO…

Was Arsenal’s next big signing revealed online by accident?

If a leaked image on Arsenal’s website is proof enough, it looks like Jurrien Timber is set to be announced as the shooter.

The news was announced by top sports journalist Chris Wheatley on Gooner News on Wednesday, July 12. He directed his readers to a tweet from the very insightful Met @AFCMet, which somehow spotted Timber’s team photo hidden behind the club’s website code.
It looks like Timber’s announcement is imminent…#

The Ajax defender was due to arrive at the Emirates Stadium, but this latest news could be just what Gunners fans have been hoping for. The addition of Timber to Mikel Arteta’s squad may be just another big step towards winning the Premier League title that was almost within reach last season.
Declan Rice is expected to be revealed as an Arsenal player in the coming days. The West Ham captain is set to cross London for an estimated transfer fee of £105million.

Should the Dutchman also join the team, it would push Arsenal’s summer spending spree past the £200m mark, with a transfer fee of £38.5m plus bonuses likely.
Arsenal were in Germany for their first pre-season friendly…#

The Gunners kicked off their pre-season friendlies last night, Thursday 12th, at the Max Morlock Stadium with a game against German club FC Nuremberg. The end result was a 1-1 draw, with new signing Kai Havertz making his debut in the famous red and white jersey. The former Chelsea star competed alongside Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus and Jorginho.
Bukayo Saka was on target after just seven minutes and headed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
Lead to break 💪

If Arteta thought his men would have an easy game against the Bundesliga second division side, he would be in for a shock. In the 78th minute, the Germans managed to equalize and it stayed that way. While friendlies are designed to help the manager see how his players will adapt to the new season, he probably would have preferred to walk away with a win in his pocket.

Speaking to reporters after the game, he said of the game: “The way we played in the first half was really good and I think we could have scored more goals, also in the second half we had two great, great chances to score and we didn’t It’s part of football and mistakes are part of sport.”
Arteta said nothing about further arrivals: ‘We are currently working with the group of players who are here. We don’t have anything to announce yet and when it’s ready you’ll be the first to know.” Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Don’t forget to come back and check the Euro Weekly News website for the latest local and international news. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.