ARSENAL FALL 3-1 TO REAL BETIS IN FINAL PRE-SEASON TOUR MATCH
Read Time:1 Minute, 36 Second
Agency Report
Arsenal wrapped up their pre-season tour of Spain and Ireland with a 3-1 defeat to Spanish side Real Betis at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Wednesday.
The La Liga outfit raced into a two-goal lead through Riquelme and Nelson Deossa before Piero Hincapie pulled one back for the Gunners with a header from Christos Tzolis’ corner.
However, former West Ham United midfielder Pablo Fornals restored Betis’ two-goal advantage before the interval with a long-range strike to seal the victory.
According to a post-match report on Arsenal’s official website, Betis opened the scoring inside 10 minutes after a corner evaded the Arsenal defence and fell kindly to Riquelme at the far post.
Deossa doubled the Spanish side’s advantage midway through the first half, unleashing a powerful 30-yard effort into the top corner.
Arsenal responded through Hincapie, who headed home Tzolis’ inswinging corner to reduce the deficit. But a misplaced pass by Kai Havertz in his own half gifted possession to Betis, allowing Fornals to fire home from outside the penalty area before half-time.
Manager Mikel Arteta made seven changes at the break, introducing Gabriel Magalhães and Gabriel Martinelli for their first pre-season appearances.
The Gunners suffered an injury setback when 19-year-old defender Louie Copley was forced off just 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Goalkeeper Illan Meslier produced a fine save to deny Isco after the restart, while Gabriel Jesus missed the target from Martinelli’s cut-back as Arsenal were unable to mount a comeback.
Arsenal will now return to England for two home friendlies, beginning with Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup on Sunday before hosting Como next Wednesday.
The north London club will then face Manchester City in the FA Community Shield at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on August 16 before opening their 2026/27 Premier League campaign at home against Coventry City on August 21.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0