Gabriel Jesus and Emile Smith Rowe got on the scoresheet as a strong Arsenal side beat Leyton Orient 2-0 in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly on Saturday.
For League One squad Leyton Orient, a lineup that also featured Martin Odegaard, Ben White, and Jurrien Timber, proved to be too formidable.
Alongside Timber and White in defense, young players Ayden Heaven and Myles Lewis-Skelly were also seen by Mikel Arteta.
The 17-year-old Lewis-Skelly assisted Reiss Nelson in the first goal for Arsenal, setting up Eddie Nketiah to square the ball for Jesus to finish.
Despite starting the match as a substitute, Smith Rowe—who has been strongly linked to a move away from the Emirates Stadium—made an instant impression when he entered the game at halftime, extending Arsenal’s advantage three minutes after Jesus’ assist.
Salah Oulad-M’hand and Charles Sagoe Jr., two young Arsenal players, were among the replacements that came in with thirty minutes left as Arteta made the substitutions and gave them a chance to show off.
In order to get ready for their first official preseason friendly against Bournemouth in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Arsenal will travel to Los Angeles on Sunday.
Arsenal 2-0 Leyton Orient
Arsenal XI: Hein (Nygaard 70), White (Rosiak 60), Timber (Rekik 46), Heaven (Monlouis 60), Lewis-Skelly (Nichols 60), Partey (Patino 46), Odegaard (Gower 60), Nelson (Nwaneri 60), Vieira (Smith-Rowe 46), Jesus (Salah Oulad-M’hand 60), Nketiah (Sagoe Jr 60).
Subs not used: Rojas-Fedorushchenko, Kacurri, Ismail Oulad-M’hand)
Leyton Orient: (First-half) Howes, James, Cooper, Simpson, Sweeney, Warrington, Brown, Agyei, Galbraith, O’Neill, Kelman.
Leyton Orient: (Second-half) Howes, Beckles, Cooper, Simpson, Happe, Trialist A, Pratley, Agyei, Trialist B, Perkins, Jaiyesimi.
Arteta’s side then take on Manchester United at 1am UK time on Sunday, July 28.
Arsenal’s USA tour concludes on August 1 – the Gunners taking on Liverpool in Philadelphia – before their Premier League campaign begins on August 17 against Wolves.
Arteta will hope to guide Arsenal to their first league title since 2004 next season following back-to-back second-place finishes.
Looking ahead to the 2024-25 campaign, Arteta said: ‘We know the demands in the league and the competition we are facing.
‘So all the work we’re doing is to find ways to get better and to see where the margins can be for our improvement.
‘That pain [from last season] is still there and I think it has to remain there, but after analysing the whole season with all the staff, the team has done a lot and probably in any other context we would have won the Premier League and that’s a big jump. But it’s not enough.
‘The stats show a high level of quality and a high level of consistency. You’re talking about the defensive side, the attacking side, about set pieces and that’s really positive.
‘That tells you that the team are starting to dominate many areas that are necessary to win major trophies, so we are heading in the right direction for sure.’
Discussing Arsenal’s pre-season schedule, Arteta added: ‘The players who arrive first are going to set the tone for the ones that are coming back later because we have four different groups coming at different stages in pre-season and they really have to feel that.
‘There’s not a lot I can tell them. They know. They know that they are really good and they were good enough to win it, but there are certain margins and certain things that sometimes are not tangible that are necessary to win.
‘For me, the best thing is when they come here on the first day and when they look at us, when they see the attitude and when they see the preparation, when they hear the words that we are using to start the preparation for this season.
‘Then they go ‘wow, this is going up a level again, so what we did last season is not going to be enough. If I want to play and I want to be competing in this team, I’m going to have to do something extra’.
‘There are margins everywhere, and some of them can be tiny but can have a huge impact, but others are really big.
‘First of all, we have to continue to do all the right things that we are doing in a consistent way, and if we can, do them a bit better. That’s the first part.
‘Then the other one is ok, what are the other areas we can still improve and go for them and simplify everything we do in a really efficient way.
‘Some people say you have to work a little bit more efficiently, I think we are going to try to work harder and be more efficient. That’s the objective.’