Real Madrid 2-2 Arsenal (3-2 on penalties) - 3 players who impressed for Arsenal

Modified Jul 24, 2019 03:13 GMT

Arsenal and Real Madrid continued their pre-season preparations with a friendly fixture at the FedEx Stadium in the International Champions Cup.

In what was a highly tempestuous and entertaining fixture, the Londoners let a two goal lead slip eventually falling to a 3-2 defeat on penalties.

The loss means that Arsenal tasted defeat for the first time in their four pre-season fixtures thus far and Unai Emery would have been disappointed with the way his side capitulated.

In the game against Real Madrid, a number of Arsenal players impressed particularly in the first half and in this piece, we shall be highlighting the three Gunners who brought their A-game against the Spanish giants.

#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang is one of the best forwards in the world and he has distinguished himself with his pristine goalscoring abilities over the years.

With 22 goals, he finished as the joint-top scorer in the league last season and would be the figurehead of Arsenal's attack next term.

Arsenal are at their best when Lacazette and Aubameyang play together and this proved to be the case once again, as Unai Emery started the pair together in attack of a 3-5-2 formation.

The two men showed their compatibility, combining well for Arsenal's second while also proving a constant menace to a shambolic Real Madrid defence.

Aubameyang's striking instincts were in full force, as he did well to peel off Sergio Ramos and latch onto Lacazette's flick to put his side 2-0 up.

When he was not in the box trying to latch onto crosses from his teammates, the Gabonese international was out wide, putting his pace to good use.

He departed the field on 74 minutes for Robbie Burton having played a part in Arsenal's first half dominance.

#2 Alexandre Lacazette

It took Lacazette just eight minutes to make his mark in the game, as he showed great instincts to latch onto a through ball by Granit Xhaka before rounding Keylor Navas and shooting at goal.

His shot was blocked on the line by Nacho, but the referee correctly penalized the defender for handball and pointed to the spot.

Having won the penalty, the 28-year-old stepped up and took responsibility for dispatching it, sending the ball fortuitously in off the left hand post to put his side 1-0 up.

16 minutes later, he turned provider, as it was off his exquisite flick that Aubameyang scored Arsenal's second of the evening.

The French international was substituted after 74 minutes for Eddie Nketiah and he gave a complete striker's performance.

His goal on the night was his first he from four pre-season fixtures and Emery would be hoping he keeps up the form he showed against Real Madrid into the new campaign.

#3 Emiliano Martinez

On an evening when regular first choice Bernd Leno was handed the day off, his understudy Emiliano Martinez was given a chance between the sticks.

The 26-year-old came up against some of the best forwards in the world and it took just two minutes for him to be tested, as Karim Benzema powered a left footed effort from just outside the box. Martinez however showed great reflexes to get down and make a solid stop.

He remained relatively untested for the rest of the first half as Arsenal imposed themselves on Real Madrid but was called to action on a number of occasions in the second 45.

The Argentine was powerless to stop either of Real Madrid’s two second half goals, but made some notable saves as Los Blancos pushed for a late winner including smart stops from Gareth Bale and Vinicius Jr.

In the penalty shootout, he also stopped a weak effort from Gareth Bale and even though his side ultimately lost in the shootout, Martinez would have been delighted with his overall performance.

The Mar Del Plate native upon his return from his loan spell with Reading stated that his aim is to displace Bernd Leno as the club’s number one and his performance against Real Madrid boosted his claim.