Arsenal delivered a dominant performance in their pre-season match, defeating German champions Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners made an explosive start in their first home game since last season, taking an early 2-0 lead with goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard. Gabriel Jesus extended the lead before halftime, seizing an errant Leverkusen throw-in to score Arsenal’s third goal.
In the second half, substitute Bukayo Saka provided a clever cut-back that former Arsenal player Granit Xhaka inadvertently redirected towards Kai Havertz, who quickly capitalized to score the fourth goal. Despite their unbeaten run in the previous Bundesliga season, Leverkusen could only manage a late consolation goal through Adam Hlozek. Arsenal will continue their pre-season at home on Sunday against Lyon in the Emirates Cup.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium. Cameron Archer scored a decisive solo goal late in the match, sprinting onto a long ball and rounding the goalkeeper to clinch the win. Jacob Ramsey initially put Villa ahead with a well-crafted team goal, but Yeray Alvarez soon equalized for Bilbao.
Villa regained the lead through Jaden Philogene in the 60th minute, only for Bilbao to equalize again with Gorka Guruzeta’s neat finish. Unai Emery’s side will conclude their pre-season campaign on Saturday against Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park in Germany.
