Arsenal misplaced a second recreation in six days as targets by Nicolas Pepe, Karl Etta Eyong and Arnaut Danjuma gave Villarreal their first pre-season win with a 3-2 victory at Emirates Stadium.
Pepe, who’s Arsenal’s second-most costly signing after his ill-fated £72 million transfer from Good in 2019, siezed on slack defending to fireplace within the Sixteenth-minute opener from shut vary after Pape Gueye shot in opposition to a submit.
Karl Etta Eyong struck from related proximity 17 minutes later after David Raya denied Gerard Moreno, however Christian Norgaard headed in Gabriel Martinelli’s nook earlier than the break.
Lo huele. Lo busca. Lo tiene. Etta Eyong y su idilio con el gol. 👽 pic.twitter.com/qrWqQpxBP9
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 6, 2025
The hosts dominated the beginning of the second half and examined goalkeeper Luis Junior twice in fast succession by fierce photographs from Ethan Nwaneri and Viktor Gyokeres on his first begin for the membership, just for Danjuma to cost on to Santi Comesana’s by ball on the break, enter the field and rifle previous Raya within the 68th minute.
Martin Odegaard decreased the deficit to 1 with 14 minutes remaining, changing a penalty received by the short ft of 15-year-old attacking midfielder Max Dowman, who has been some of the spectacular performers throughout Arsenal’s pre-season.
Gabriel then missed an opportunity to win the following penalty shootout for Arsenal when Diego Conde tipped the defender’s try in opposition to the crossbar earlier than the substitute goalkeeper denied new signing Noni Madueke in sudden loss of life to seal a second victory of the night for the Yellow Submarine.
Con mucho veneno.
Att: Danjuma 🐍 pic.twitter.com/c8cKM3W1dM— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 6, 2025
Arsenal vs Villarreal: Defeat for Gunners
Villarreal had by no means scored in three earlier visits to Arsenal however Pepe gave Myles Lewis-Skelly a torrid time early on and Jakub Kiwior was culpable for the primary purpose by dallying at point-blank vary because the winger pounced.
Norgaard – a £15m signing from Brentford in July – offered a measure of much-needed aid for the Premier League facet after these early targets quietened the house crowd, opening his account with a free header within the thirty sixth minute on the again submit.
New defender Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel had been left trailing by the velocity of Villarreal’s counter-attack for his or her third and Sergi Cardona was a persistent catalyst for Villarreal together with his velocity, trickery and crossing means from the left.
Odegaard, Declan Rice and Oleksandr Zinchenko scored for Arsenal within the shootout however Mikel Merino shot properly vast after ready for Diego Conde to maneuver.
Alberto Moleiro, Danjuma, Comesana and Pau Cabanes scored penalties for Villarreal, whereas former Arsenal mortgage signing Denis Suarez’s effort went comfortably vast and Jean Valou hit the crossbar.
DraftKings Promo Code: Get Over $200 Off NFL Sunday Ticket
Arsenal group vs Villarreal
Arsenal handed a begin to Gyokeres, who joined from Sporting in July for a payment that might rise to £64 million and did properly to check Villarreal’s beginning goalkeeper, Luiz Junior, from a decent angle after being performed in by Mikel Merino.
One other new striker, Noni Madueke, was on the bench after lacking Arsenal’s Asia tour whereas recovering from Chelsea’s marketing campaign on the Membership World Cup in June and July.
Gabriel and Jurrien Timber had been out injured, whereas fellow defender Riccardo Calafiori was absent after lacking the 1-0 defeat to Spurs in Hong Kong final Thursday with a knee damage.
Ahead Leandro Trossard was not risked after limping off in that recreation.
Athletic Bilbao additionally go to Arsenal on Saturday (17:00 BST / 12:00 ET / 09:00 PT) and Arteta mentioned he had been anticipating high-level encounters with the LaLiga golf equipment.
“Villarreal are taking part in on the highest degree and have a supervisor in Marcelino who likes to play a really particular sort of system and formation that we’ll discover within the Premier League this season,” predicted the Spaniard.
“Enjoying in opposition to Spanish opposition would require different issues from us as properly and I count on these to be actually good video games.
“Once we prepare these pre-season matches, I at all times have a look at how the supervisor units up his groups, how they coach their group, the form of gamers they’ve, how they practice totally different phases of play in opposition to totally different blocks.
“We now have an excellent combination this pre-season. The information and expertise that we acquire from these video games all goes into our ‘database’ to assist us all through the season. It helps for the best way we now have to evolve our recreation fashions.
“Every recreation goes to demand one thing from you bodily and [in terms of] the areas you must assault or shield, and other ways [opponents] can play of their build-up as properly.
“So we now have to nail that and enhance that. Enjoying in opposition to Villarreal will assist, so it’s a great recreation for us.”
Arsenal beginning XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Merino, Nwaneri, Saka, Martinelli, Gyokeres
Arsenal substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Setford, Timber, Gabriel, Mosquera, Zinchenko, Lokonga, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Madueke, Rice, Dowman, Harriman-Annous
Villarreal group vs Arsenal
Willy Kambwala was out for Villarreal with a left hamstring damage the French-Congolese defender sustained throughout their pleasant in opposition to Genoa on July 31.
Cape Verdean defender Logan Costa had surgical procedure on Tuesday for an entire rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, struggling the damage throughout their pre-season opener in opposition to FC Basel on July 19.
Proper-back Santiago Mourino, who made his debut within the 1-1 draw at Leeds United on Saturday, stored his place.
Thomas Partey is predicted to signal for Villarreal this week however the former Arsenal midfielder, who will seem at Westminster magistrates courtroom on Wednesdayafter being charged with 5 counts of rape and one in every of sexual assault, wasn’t on board in time for a return to the Emirates Stadium.
Villarreal had been no strangers to the Emirates Stadium, though that they had failed to attain on their three earlier visits.
Kolo Toure’s Forty first-minute opener at house for Arsenal proved the one purpose of the tie within the 2005/06 Champions League semi-finals, with Riquelme lacking a late penalty for Villarreal within the return leg on the Estadio El Madrigal.
The groups met once more in London a quarter-final tie poised at 1-1 after the primary leg in 2009, just for Arsenal to cruise by with a 3-0 win.
Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie scored on that event, and Villarreal are unbeaten within the two encounters between the golf equipment since then.
Beneath former Arsenal supervisor Unai Emery, Villarreal received the primary leg 2-1 at house in opposition to Arteta’s group within the 2020/21 Europa League semi-finals, Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol scoring earlier than Pepe’s late reply.
The second leg completed 0-0, sending the Yellow Submarine by to a closing they received 11-10 on penalties in opposition to Manchester United following a 1-1 attract Gdansk.
Villarreal beginning XI: Junior, Mourino, Marin, Foyth, Cardona, Gueye, Moleiro, Parejo, Pepe, Eyong, Moreno
Villarreal substitutes: Gomez, Conde, Navarro, Suarez, Danjuma, Altimira, Comesana, Buchanan, Pedraza, Valou, Cabanes
When does Arsenal’s 2025/26 Premier League season start?
The first round of Premier League matches in 2025/26 will probably be on the weekend of August 16 2025, together with Arsenal’s journey to Manchester United on Sunday, August 17 at 16:30 BST.
The sport in opposition to the 2024/25 Europa League finalists is being proven reside within the UK on Sky Sports activities Premier League, Extremely and Essential Occasion.
The final spherical of matches this season will all begin on the identical time on Could 24 2026. No rounds will happen inside 60 hours of one another and there will probably be no fixture on December 24.
When does Villarreal’s 2025/26 LaLiga season begin?
Having certified for the Champions League by ending fifth final season, Villarreal begin their 2025/26 marketing campaign at house to Oviedo on August 15 (20:30 BST / 15:30 ET / 12:30 PT).
Their guests had been promoted by the play-offs after coming third within the Segunda Division.
