Arsenal got their pre-season campaign off to a flying start with a thrilling penalty shootout win over Bournemouth.

In the first friendly match of the pre-season, Arsenal players showed their superior strength with dangerous opportunities created towards Bournemouth’s goal.

The Gunners were in complete control in the first 20 minutes, and the reward came with a beautiful volley from midfielder Fabio Viera in the 18th minute.

Fabio Viera opened the scoring for Arsenal. Photo: Getty

With the goal, Arsenal proactively slowed down the pace of the match, and this helped Bournemouth have opportunities to respond, however, The Cherries could not take advantage of it successfully.

Meanwhile, Arsenal also created a few dangerous attacking situations, but striker Nketiah was unlucky, thereby ending the first 45 minutes with a fragile advantage.

 

In the second half, Arsenal and Bournemouth made changes to experiment. This made the match more attractive with the players determined to express themselves.

After a regrettable miss against the Arsenal goalkeeper, Bournemouth fans were able to celebrate a goal after Antoine Semenyo’s lucky shot brought the home team an equalizer.

Antoine Semenyo equalized for Bournemouth. Photo: Getty

After conceding a painful goal, Arsenal fought back strongly to find their first win in the friendly period. However, the lack of luck of the strikers along with the solidity of Bournemouth’s defense forced the “Gunners” to accept a 1-1 draw, thereby dragging the match into a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.

Each team failed to score once in the first five kicks. In the sixth, a Bournemouth player failed to score, allowing Jakub Kiwior to secure the win for Arsenal.

After this match, Mikel Arteta and his students will prepare for the big match with Man Utd on July 28.