Arsenal match report
Arsenal’s first-half masterclass saw them cruise to victory over Bundesliga Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen in the Emirates Cup.
The Gunners put out a strong starting XI and scored twice in two minutes through Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard inside the opening 10 minutes.
Gabriel Jesus then netted a third with a brilliant breakaway solo finish in the 38th minute and Kai Havertz grabbed another after the break to end the contest.
Leverkusen nicked a 76th-minute consolation on the counter via Adam Hlozek.
Three Lions stars Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were amongst four half-time substitutions from boss Mikel Arteta as Arsenal saw out a comfortable win back in North London.
Skipper Martin Odegaard came off just after the hour mark after requiring treatment, but did not look to be carrying a serious knock.
The big team news before kick-off was the absence of new £42million signing Riccardo Calafiori, as well as Dutch left-back Jurrien Timber, sparking injury concerns.
However, SunSport understands that Italian defender Calafiori is still being eased into any sort of game time after joining the squad at the end of their States tour on July 29.
Timber meanwhile was also left out as a precaution with a small foot issue, but not expected to be of any concern. Both could feature against Lyon on Sunday ahead of their Prem opener against Wolves on August 17.
The returning Granit Xhaka was given a standing ovation by the fans upon his return for the first time since leaving the club last summer.
