Arsenal lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the final leg of the club’s Asia Tour. The Gunners did not look great, which I’m going to chalk up to a bit of fatigue at the end of their preseason trip. It was the third match in eight days, presumably alongside a slew of rigorous training sessions.

That’s why they have a preseason, folks — to get minutes in the legs, get back to fitness, and find match sharpness before the season starts. Arsenal will travel home to London tomorrow ahead of matches against Villareal on Wednesday, August 6th and Athletic Club on Saturday the 9th.

• To paraphrase Arsene Wegner, Arsenal weren’t great and the referee was on their level. And you can throw in pitch quality, too. I’d be more worked-up about the calls in the match if, yanno, the game actually mattered. Spurs’ goal gets chalked off by VAR 100 times out of 100. Richarlison literally looked down to see where Myles Lewis-Skelly’s feet were before hacking him down to create the turnover.
• On the goal, David Raya’s pass to Myles Lewis-Skelly was ill-advised. He put the youngster under needless pressure and in a bad spot. Raya struggled coming for corners today, although I’m confident that most of his issues were caused by play that would be called a foul in the Premier League. The Arsenal keeper wobbled down the stretch last season and hasn’t looked great in the preseason. Something to keep an eye on.
• The repeated contact and obstruction on David Raya was a large part of why Arsenal looked a bit shaky defending corners. Nonetheless, it’s another thing to monitor as we move towards the season, especially because it’s a continuation of a trend from last year. My gut tells me that once Gabriel Magalhaes is back on the pitch, all will be well.
• Kai Havertz was indecisive on a couple occasions, taking too many touches in and around the box. He could have won a penalty but the flag went up for offside earlier (?) in the move. Without a longer replay on the broadcast nor VAR in use, it’s tough to tell what actually happened. He was definitely fouled in the box as he went to shoot. Declan Rice could have pulled the trigger himself on the move, too.
• Bukayo Saka was whistled for a foul on Rodrigo Bentancur when the correct call was either nothing at all or a foul the other way. That’s two penalty shouts for the Gunners, neither given. At least the refereeing was in mid-season form! As is my bemoaning it. But really, who cares, it’s preseason.
• Christian Nørgaard had a couple instances of really good, quick pressure to create a high turnover after Arsenal had lost the ball to Spurs. We also saw why people don’t exactly rave about his passing. It’s fine. His passing is fine, but that’s it.
• Leandro Trossard had to be subbed off with an injury issue about 15 minutes after coming on in the second half. That’s by far the most important takeaway from the match. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. He walked off on his own.
• Martin Zubimendi was in the middle of the action immediately after coming on. His deflected volley had Vicario worried, much in the same way that Martin Ødegaard’s deflected shot nearly looped in at the far post in the opening minute of the match.
• Viktor Gyökeres made a cameo appearance. He hardly touched the ball, but you immediately notice his willingness to run. He’s always looking for space between and behind defenders to move into to make himself available for a teammate.
• Cristhian Mosquera looked composed in his brief appearance. That dude is big and moves really well for a guy his size.
• Max Dowman is fantastic. The ball was constantly funneling his way while he was on the pitch, much in the same way that it flows through Bukayo Saka when he’s on the right side.
• A bit perplexed as to why we didn’t see Ethan Nwaneri. No idea why he wasn’t subbed on.
• Reiss Nelson looked energetic and quick as a substitute. He always looks bright in preseason but can’t translate it into regular playing time. It doesn’t really matter because he’s likely on his way to Fulham before the window closes.

That’s that for the Asia Tour. Arsenal looked good against A.C. Milan, impressed against Newcastle, and were flat today against Spurs. For what it’s worth, Spurs were worse. The Gunners have things to work on as the season draws closer, but there aren’t any major concerns. There are a bunch of new faces in key positions and guys are learning each other. The club have yet to integrate Noni Madueke into the mix, who’ll join the team back in London. Again, that’s why we’ve got a preseason. They’ll hit the ground running come August 17th.