Riccardo Calafiori impresses on his debut, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are charged up for new season, and Mikel Arteta could be ready to give youth a chance… THINGS WE LEARNED from Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Lyon

Arsenal completed their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 win over Lyon to win the Emirates Cup.

Mikel Arteta played a strong team and took the lead after just nine minutes thanks to a header from William Saliba.

The Gunners doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark when Saliba’s centre-back Gabriel rose high again from a corner.

Meanwhile, £42million summer signing Riccardo Calafiori made his debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Mail Sport’s Isaan Khan was with the Emirates team. Here are his key takeaways.

Welcome to Calafiori

Riccardo Calafiori’s £42million signing was completed two weeks ago and today he played his first minutes in an Arsenal shirt.

As the 22-year-old waited on the sidelines, the Gunners welcomed their new man with enthusiasm.

The excitement has been further heightened by the fact that he is the North London club’s only summer signing so far.

The Italian had a solid start, coming on in the 64th minute, gritting his teeth, closing the ground on his opponent with willpower and running hard to get back into a defensive position.

The noise of the crowd during his passes and tackles also had an effect on him.

Calafiori was eager to get the ball, beckoning his team-mates when they were free on the left flank. There were a couple of drives forward and a great sprint back on the break that was enough to deter a Lyon attacker, helped by David Raya’s save.

It’s early days yet, but for a 26-minute run the signs looked promising.

Rice and Saka ready to go

Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were of course crucial to Arsenal’s title ambitions last season, making their first starts of the pre-season – and providing glimpses of their higher gears.

The two came on as substitutes in the 4-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. Saka looked sharper then, but still had to step up a level for the new season.

That was evident this afternoon. Saka immediately caused problems for left back Abner, by swinging him from inside to outside and causing a lot of problems when he shot towards the penalty area.

His threat to the Lyon defence was excellent and saw Arsenal break through the lines early in the game.

Rice, who tried to be fully prepared for the competition again last time, has now taken a clear step forward and indicates that he is ready.

His passes were sharp, he constantly tried to improve the game and also made some good tackles.

And to top it all off, two of his well-executed corner kicks – which also hit the target – resulted in goals.

The increase in levels was expected, but welcome nonetheless.

Fixed kings

There was one table in particular where the Gunners finished top. Not the league — but in standard situations. The north London club scored 20 points in the 2023-24 season, more than any other Premier League team.

They had not yet scored a single goal during their US pre-season tour, but today they managed to score twice against Lyon, thanks to corner kicks from Declan Rice.

The first goal, scored by William Saliba, looked particularly out of the playbook of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. Most of Arsenal’s players in the box started at the back post before moving towards the front post, apart from Saliba who strayed into the centre of the goal.

The Frenchman headed the ball into the net with a huge header. Gabriel made it the second goal with a powerful header from the edge of the penalty area.

Mikel Arteta will be aware of how important goals from set pieces have been for him and his team and he will be hoping to see that happen again.

Will Mikel Arteta give young players chances?

After a pre-season tour of the US in which the academy’s stars were also allowed to play on the pitch, Arsenal returned to their old pattern.

Their most promising youngsters Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ayden Heaven and Josh Nichols were on the bench, with the first two getting run out in the 78th minute.

Saka was replaced at that point. It felt wise to take him off before the end, given the amount of minutes he will play in the coming months.

It was a promising sign that Arteta was giving these academy players a chance to come on at the Emirates. It wasn’t quite the same as starting them or subbing one or two at half-time, but it was a slight change of tone nonetheless.

As seen in the previous campaign, the Spaniard barely used his young players, even in matches where everything was going smoothly.

By letting some of them play here, they get hope that there is a way into the first team.

That is important because players will be leaving, such as Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters to Brighton and Luton Town respectively.

A reminder of this was on the announcer. The announcer announced the return of Ainsley Maitland-Niles who plays for Lyon.

The stadium announcer told how Maitland-Niles joined Arsenal at the age of six and made his first-team debut at 17.

It shows that one path can lead to another.

Pre-season is coming to an end

Arsenal’s pre-season matches are now over and their campaign begins next Saturday against Wolves.

By choosing opponents such as Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen, they have prepared well.

Although the results of such competitions are not so relevant to the bigger picture, a lot can be practiced, learned and calculated during this period.

There can be a temptation to play weaker teams. Arsenal have done the opposite.

This should see the Gunners get back to their old ways in the Premier League. It is a ruthless competition that allows no time to settle.

The North London club have also deployed a wide range of players and experimented with different positions.

Kai Havertz was deployed as a left midfielder against Liverpool in Philadelphia. Today the German played as a false nine.

After 30 minutes he made a sublime pass across the field, which allowed Gabriel Martinelli to charge towards goal, but under pressure from a defender he fell in the penalty area.

Overall, things are looking good for the Gunners.