Only five days remain until Arsenal’s maiden game of the new Premier League season, as the Gunners face Wolves on Saturday at the Emirates.The last test before the start – a 2-0 home win against Olympique Lyon on Sunday – proved Mikel Arteta’s side is defensively well-balanced and solid.The centre-back duo Gabriel-Saliba not only prevented the French attackers from scoring but managed to score both of Arsenal’s goals in the first half from set-pieces.However, the fact mentioned above is something that should maybe worry Arteta at the same time. Arteta’s strange pickpocketing lesson Arsenal players will never forgetThe lack of goals scored from open play – as several chances were missed – is the issue the Gunners ought to solve before the opening games of the new EPL campaign.The attacking trio Saka-Havertz-Martinelli had their goal-scoring opportunities. Havertz saw a header go over the bar, Martinelli was sent through twice but failed to find the back of the net, while Saka hit the post. The second half saw a whole different setup, with Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus, and Trossard coming on, but the outcome stayed exactly the same – there were no more goals. Emirates Cup winners 🏆Check out the highlights from today’s 2-0 victory over Lyon 👇 pic.twitter.com/Fz5RXWwL6D— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 11, 2024 At the same time, Eddie Nketiah remains in talks over a potential exit, as Olympique Marseille is eager to sign him. This possible departure could open the door to buying something else before the transfer window closes.Still, this means the newcomer would have to adapt to the Arsenal team and vice versa without spending a single day with the squad in the pre-season, which is also quite risky.Meanwhile, Riccardo Calafiori made his Arsenal debut in front of the home fans as he came on to replace Olexandr Zinchenko with 30 minutes left on the clock. A couple of his trademark runs with the ball deep into the opposite half show the Azzurri’s defender will definitely offer a new quality to Arteta-ball, especially on the left-hand side.##NAJAVA_MECA_8262847##
