- By Namrata Vijay
- Thu, 07 Aug 2025 08:07 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Arsenal vs Villarreal Friendly: Villarreal defeated Arsenal by 3-2 during a friendly match on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium. This was Arsenal's second consecutive loss. They had also lost to Tottenham Hotspur last week and ended their Asian tour on a disappointing note.
Arsenal lost consecutive matches after winning against AC Milan and Newcastle United in Singapore. Nicolas Pepe, who began playing for Villarreal last year, took just 17 minutes after returning to North London and scored the first goal of the team by turning the ball from a close range after the visitors had recycled their possession from Pape Gueye, who had hit the ball towards the post.
Pepe used to play for Arsenal, where he was the second most expensive player in the history of the club. He didn't celebrate much after scoring the first goal.
Even though there were enough opportunities for the Mikel Arteta-led side to level the score and score another goal against Villarreal. Etta Young once again had a close-range rebound by being at the right place at the right time during the 33rd minute and converted it into a goal after Raya saved it from Gerard Moreno.
Arsenal, who were trailing by 2-0 during the first half, bounced back and scored a goal during the 36th minute. Christian Nogarrd scored the first goal for the club after coming from Brentford.
Villarreal had a disappointing start during the second half but then made a brilliant comeback and took a two-goal lead. Arnaut Danjuma, who used to play for Tottenham, scored the goal. He made a brilliant counterattack and calmly played a shot, which went across Raya, and the ball went towards the bottom corner as Mosquera was seen trying to stop it.
Arsenal once again tried to bounce back despite trailing by two goals. Youngster Max Dowman scored a penalty, and Martin Odegaard, who was the substitute, scored another goal after 16 minutes. But they failed to score their third goal.
Arsenal would be seen in action again later this week and would also be beginning their stint at the Premier League next week, and those days of making substitutions during half-time are over for them. Arteta made just two changes during halftime, as Martin Zubimendi and Christian Mosquera made significant contributions in their unofficial debut match, replacing Nogaard and Ben White.