Arsenal began their pre-season programme with a 3-0 victory over MK Dons at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Reiss Nelson, Ethan Nwaneri and Ceadach O’Neill scored in the behind-closed-doors friendly, while new signing Christos Tzolis provided an assist on his debut.
Mikel Arteta selected a mixture of senior players and academy prospects for Arsenal’s first match of the summer.
Tzolis was involved inside the opening minute. The Greece international released Nelson inside the penalty area, but Craig MacGillivray blocked the winger’s effort.
The pair combined again after 10 minutes to give Arsenal the lead. Tzolis exchanged passes with Riccardo Calafiori on the left before finding Nelson, who drove a finish into the bottom corner.
Max Dowman also caused problems from the opposite flank. The academy winger produced an excellent crossfield pass for Nelson, although the forward’s attempt was blocked by the MK Dons defence.
The visitors almost equalised through Callum Paterson. The experienced striker reacted to his own flick-on and reached the ball inside the box, but Kepa Arrizabalaga made an important close-range save.
Arsenal doubled their advantage six minutes before half-time. A well-worked corner reached Nwaneri on the edge of the area, and the midfielder curled his finish beyond MacGillivray.
The official Arsenal match report confirmed Arteta made eight changes at the interval. Only Kepa, Marli Salmon and Louie Copley remained from the first-half side.
Arsenal youngsters complete comfortable victory
MK Dons created several chances after the restart. Jack Burke and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy both fired over from dangerous positions at the back post.
Arteta made three further changes shortly before the hour. Summer signing Illan Meslier replaced Kepa for his Arsenal debut, while Theo Julienne and Marcell Washington were also introduced.
Former Arsenal academy player Cohen Bramall then delivered a free-kick towards Paterson, but the striker could not direct his header on target.
Arsenal scored their third with their first clear opportunity of the second half. Demiane Agustien lifted a pass over the MK Dons defence and O’Neill finished powerfully at the near post.
The hosts continued pushing for another goal. Evan Mooney struck the underside of the crossbar after Ismeal Kabia’s pass, before Kabia was denied by MacGillivray.
Meslier completed the clean sheet with a late save from Daniel Barlaser’s low effort.
The result gave Tzolis an encouraging start after his reported £34million arrival from Club Brugge. ReadArsenal previously covered Arsenal’s official announcement of the winger.
Arteta’s squad will now travel to Spain for a pre-season training camp before facing Girona on 1 August.
Arsenal line-ups
First half: Arrizabalaga, Copley, Mosquera, Salmon, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Nelson, Dowman, Tzolis, Jesus.
Second half: Arrizabalaga (Meslier 59), Ogunnaike, Salmon (Julienne 59), Clarke, Copley (Washington 59), Ibrahim, Agustien, O’Neill, Harriman-Annous, Kabia, Mooney.
Goals
- Arsenal 1-0 MK Dons: Reiss Nelson, 10 minutes
- Arsenal 2-0 MK Dons: Ethan Nwaneri, 39 minutes
- Arsenal 3-0 MK Dons: Ceadach O’Neill
