Arsenal 1-3 Real Betis: First-Half Errors Punish Gunners

Arsenal suffered their first defeat of pre-season as Real Betis secured a 3-1 victory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Piero Hincapié briefly gave Mikel Arteta’s side hope after Rodrigo Riquelme and Nelson Deossa had put Betis in charge, but Pablo Fornals struck again before the break to restore the visitors’ cushion.

After the interval, Arsenal found more rhythm and carved out chances through Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, yet the breakthrough never came.

Arteta stuck with the same starting XI that began the 4-1 win over Girona. Kepa Arrizabalaga lined up behind a back four of Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Hincapié and Riccardo Calafiori. In midfield, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri got the nod, while Max Dowman and Christos Tzolis flanked Viktor Gyökeres up front.

The Gunners saw plenty of the ball early on, but it was Betis who capitalised on the first real defensive slip after just nine minutes.

Kepa rushed off of his line to meet Fornals’ corner but couldn’t get there, leaving Riquelme unmarked at the far post. The winger took a touch and fired into an empty net.

Arsenal were gifted a chance to hit back when Betis keeper Álvaro Valles passed straight to the home attack, but Viktor Gyökeres couldn’t quite react in time to punish the error.

Betis made Arsenal pay almost immediately at the other end. Another misplaced pass from Kepa handed Betis the ball deep in Arsenal territory. Deossa took full advantage, unleashing a fierce shot from distance that flew into the top corner for 2-0 after 26 minutes.

The Gunners reduced the deficit just six minutes later through what is now becoming a familiar route for the Gunners.

Dowman drove at the Betis defence and picked out Tzolis, whose shot was blocked for a corner. Tzolis then swung in the corner, Valles misjudged the flight, and Hincapié was on hand to nod into an empty net.

But hopes of reaching half-time just a goal down faded before the interval.

Havertz lost the ball in his own half and Betis wasted no time moving it to Fornals. The ex-West Ham man found space outside the area and picked out the bottom corner with a calm finish to make it 3-1.

Arteta rang the changes at half-time, bringing on Gabriel, Martinelli, Jesus and Fábio Vieira as Arsenal searched for a way back.

Arsenal upped the tempo and saw more of the ball, but real chances were still hard to come by. Martinelli carved out the best opportunity, beating his man on the left and cutting back for Jesus, who fired wide with the goal at his mercy.

Illan Meslier came on for Kepa in the second half and was soon tested, reacting well to keep out Isco’s clever near-post effort after a slick Betis move.

Arsenal continued to dominate possession but rarely troubled Valles, while Betis looked comfortable at the back and always dangerous on the break.

There was concern for academy defender Jack Copley, who, after just 10 minutes on the pitch, limped off in the second half with a knee issue and was replaced by Theo Julienne.

Arteta’s squad now head back to North London to prepare for Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup, before a midweek fixture against Como, with the Community Shield against Manchester City rounding off the summer for the Gunners.