Arsenal 2-3 Villarreal: Arteta´s side fall to consecutive pre-season defeats

Arsenal suffered their second straight pre-season defeat after Villarreal battled to a 3-2 win at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta will be desperate for his side to bounce back in their final pre-season outing against Athletic Club on Saturday, having watched Arsenal follow the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham with further disappointment.

Nicolas Pepe came back to haunt his former side with the opener, pouncing on a loose ball from close range just moments after Pape Gueye rattled David Raya’s right-hand post from outside the area.

Etta Eyong volleyed home from a similar position after 33 minutes, converting from inside the six-yard area to capitalise on Raya’s loose parry from Gerard Moreno’s left-footed effort.

New signing Christian Norgaard reduced the deficit before half-time by heading past Luiz Junior at the back post from Gabriel Martinelli’s corner.

Villarreal broke quickly from Arsenal’s set-piece to restore their two-goal lead, however, as Santi Comesana released Arnaut Danjuma to race through and slam past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Martin Odegaard then scored from the penalty spot with 14 minutes remaining after Max Dowman was felled by Pau Navarro, though Arsenal were unable to find a late leveller.

More pre-season minutes in the tank pic.twitter.com/QhSlRn0uvs

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 6, 2025

Data Debrief: Pepe proves worth against former club

Pepe managed just 16 goals in 80 Premier League outings for Arsenal but showed his former side what could have been with an instinctive 16th-minute finish.

The Villarreal winger also led his side for touches in Arsenal’s area (four), while no team-mate managed more than his two shots on target (Moreno, also two).

Arteta may feel his side deserved more than defeat, however, after watching Arsenal accumulate 1.78 expected goals (xG) to Villarreal’s 0.98.