Recent signing Gabriel Jesus recorded a hat trick in his first match for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium as the Gunners concluded their preseason slate of matches by cruising past Sevilla, 6-0, in the Emirates Cup on Saturday.
A week after finishing with three wins in as many games on a U.S. tour, Arsenal continued its impressive form by scoring four goals in the opening 20 minutes against the Spanish side.
The first goal came in the 10th minute via the penalty spot and courtesy of Bukayo Saka, who had been pushed over in the box by Sevilla’s Karim Rekik. Jesus made it 2-0 just two minutes later, finishing after a cross from Granit Xhaka was initially parried away by keeper Yassine Bounou.
The capacity crowd at the Emirates saw Jesus notch his second goal in the 15th minute by sweeping home a cross from fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli. And Bounou’s weak attempt at a clearance gifted Arsenal a fourth goal, allowing Saka to stroke a right-footed effort into the net for his second on the day.
goals against Sevilla in the Emirates Cup on Saturday.
Arsenal’s chances on goal continued through the first half, only for Bounou to produce a fine double-save on Jesus and captain Martin Odegaard, and then deny a Martinelli one-on-one.
With the 4-0 scoreline at the half enough to secure yet another positive postseason result for the Gunners, things were a bit tighter after the break, with Rekik heading a corner just wide for Sevilla shortly after the restart.
Both Odegaard and Xhaka had chances to extend Arenal’s lead, before Jesus completed his hat-trick to make it 5-0 in the 77th minute. The Brazilian converted after a Martinelli cross to record his seventh goal in just five pre-season outings, before being replaced by Nicolas Pepe.
The change was among six substitutions by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who saw his side score a sixth goal two minutes before full-time. With Sevilla aiming for a late consolation strike, Xhaka found Martinelli on the counter, and the Brazilian set up Eddie Nketiah for an easy finish to complete the day’s scoring.
“It was a great performance, right from the beginning,” noted Arteta in his post-match comments to arsenal.com. “The way we started, the intensity that we played with, and the atmosphere that we created again, with our people, it made a special day.”
Admitting that the contest represented “just a test match, nothing else,” Arteta added that “we are really excited for the season. We know that Friday night (the Premier League opener) is going to be a very different game, with a different context and atmosphere. We have to prepare really well for that.”
New club captain Odegaard believes there is a real belief among the squad heading into the first league match at Crystal Palace. “I think the confidence is obviously high. We’ve had some good games, and we’re playing well, so of course we have a good feeling,” he told arsenal.com. “But we have to stay calm, we have to stay humble, and keep working hard.”