A draw and a loss in two matches against two Scottish clubs? That may be good enough for a Scottish club that isn’t under pressure to perform and get results soon. Arsenal drew with Mikel Arteta’s old club Rangers after coming back twice in Glasgow in front of 2,000 supporters. A 2-1 defeat to Hibernian first time out ended a long wait for club action to return, and Arsenal concluded their mini-tour of Scotland with a trip to Ibrox before now returning to London ahead of jetting off to sunny Florida next week.Debut goal for Nuno Tavares!Rangers 1-1 Arsenal pic.twitter.com/LPmp4SQmEn— Arsenal Best Goals & Videos (@AFCBestGoals) July 17, 2021 Mikel Arteta rang the changes as expected for Saturday’s clash with new signing Nuno Tavares earning his first minutes in red and white. It was the new left-back, signed from Benfica, who got his first goal in an Arsenal shirt as he controlled the ball and fired from with his right foot to cancel out Leon Balogun’s opener.Arsenal dominated but missed numerous glorious chances before another poorly defended set piece put the hosts back in front. This time Cedric Itten had a free header inside the penalty box and he made the Londoners pay.Arteta suffers a headache, and the season hasn’t even started yetNumerous changes from the manager didn’t impact the Gunners’ flow and they had Steven Gerrard’s Rangers pinned back in their own third for long spells. Their resistance was finally broken when Eddie Nketiah stole the ball in the penalty box, gathered his thoughts and wrong-footed goalkeeper Allan McGregor with a low drive in at the near post to make it 2-2.📸 GALLERY: Rangers 2-2 Arsenal👉 Check out the full match gallery: https://t.co/J77VkjvORw pic.twitter.com/7mDcJmwTSF— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) July 17, 2021 The Gunners have missed too many chances in this game – notably Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It’s not unusual to see the players looking rusty during the preparations period, but there is no doubt that Arteta would have been far happier with a win because he was already getting poor reviews following the Hibernian defeat.”We should be alarmed about the defending!”😳Are you worried about the Arsenal defence? 🤔Watch Ty’s full Fan Cam on YouTube now 👉 https://t.co/09DcjojuPF#AFC #Rangers #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/Fu8wpmNrHB— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) July 18, 2021 Tavares is proving an intriguing addition to the squad and more should follow. Anderlecht’s Albert Sambi Lokonga should arrive to the club in the next few days. Ideally, the midfielder teams up with the Gunners before the trip to America, as the manager confirmed following the friendly at Ibrox.”We’re going to have some new faces arriving probably, so it is very positive.”⚽️⚽️⚽️Goal⚽️⚽️⚽️Nketiah with a nice strikeRangers 2-2 Arsenal#RanArs #Arsenal #RangersFC A follow & RT, most appreciated 👍👍👍 pic.twitter.com/V9AaXmiMGK— goonerjon777 (@G00NERJ0N777) July 17, 2021 The Gunners have also been linked with a move for long-term target Houssem Aouar but are expected to be challenged by Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester United for the wantaway Lyon star.
