Gyo-goal Breaks His Arsenal Duck

Emirates Cup: Arsenal Flex Muscles, Gyökeres Opens Account, Havertz Adds The Cherry

If pre-season's meant to give you a taste of what's coming, Saturday's 3-0 win over Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup tasted pretty good – like a pint that's been poured properly for once.

We lifted the trophy with minimal fuss, maximum class and a couple of shiny firsts: Viktor Gyökeres nodding home his first goal in red and white, Kai Havertz reminding everyone that yes, he can finish, and Martin Zubimendi looking like he's been running our midfield for a decade.

First-half fizz

Bukayo Saka started like he'd been wound up and let loose, darting in from the right and generally making Inigo Lekue regret his life choices. Martinelli buzzed about too, though the opener came from something more measured: Zubimendi winning the ball, Odegaard finding Saka, and the Spaniard whipping in a peach of a cross for Gyökeres to bury with a bullet header.

Barely had Athletic reset their shape before Martinelli found Saka again, who calmly rolled in our second. 2-0 before half-time. Job done? Almost.

Second-half stroll

Mikel Arteta rang the changes, and Noni Madueke gave us a glimpse of why the Emirates crowd already likes him – direct running, swagger, and making defenders backpedal like they'd seen a wasp. Gyökeres nearly doubled his tally with a diving header off the post, then Havertz came on to apply the gloss.

The German had already fluffed one before Saka sent him clear on the counter. Off balance? Sure. Clinical? Absolutely – slotted low into the corner for 3-0 and a proper Emirates send-off before Old Trafford next weekend.

Penalties for fun

Because pre-season is pre-season, we had a penalty shootout regardless of the score. We won that too – 6-5 – with Zubimendi capping off a man-of-the-match display by tucking away the winner. Nice bit of target practice for when the games matter.

Zubimendi - already part of the furniture

Speaking after, the Spaniard sounded like a man who's already swapped "settling in" for "winning stuff."

"It was very easy – the team made it very easy for me. Declan and Martin are top players, the best in their position… We like to compete; we like to win. I'm very happy it's starting now."

Arteta on the new boys

Mikel was all smiles: Gyökeres is "going to destroy you" one-on-one, Havertz's goal was "top," and Madueke is a "big weapon" who doesn't care which wing he's on. He also hinted there might still be transfer business to come – incomings and outgoings – because apparently the squad depth can get even better.

Next stop: Old Trafford

The warm-up's over. Premier League football is back next Sunday, 4:30pm, and we're kicking things off away to Manchester United. If the lads play like they did here, we'll be starting the season the way we ended pre-season – with a smile and a trophy lift.