Arsenal 1 Bournemouth 1: Implications of Smith Rowe exit, Vieira ...

Arsenal’s preparations for a season in which they hope to challenge once again for the Premier League title began with a 1-1 friendly draw against fellow Premier League side Bournemouth.

At LA Galaxy’s Dignity Health Sports Park, Mikel Arteta’s team took the lead through Fabio Vieira’s crisp volley. But a deflected equaliser from Antoine Semenyo during the second half pegged them back.

After the match, Arsenal triumphed 5-4 in a pre-arranged penalty shootout, with Karl Hein making two saves before Jakub Kiwior slotted home the winning spot kick.

James McNicholas, who has followed the team to California, analyses the key takeaways from this all-Premier League friendly.

In the wake of The Athletic’s revelation that Arsenal and Fulham are close to agreeing a £35million ($45.1m) deal for Emile Smith Rowe, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder was an unused substitute against Bournemouth. With a deal close, Arsenal did not want to risk injury and potentially jeopardise a deal that could prove to be a significant windfall for them.

If Smith Rowe does leave, Arsenal may enter the transfer market to replace him. There are players already within the Arsenal squad, however, who stand to benefit.

One is Vieira. The Portuguese midfielder operates in similar positions to Smith Rowe, and the feeling heading into the window was that Arsenal would sell one and keep the other. After a difficult 2023-24, Vieira needs a good pre-season more than most. His well-executed volley to give his side the lead got him off to a good start.

Ethan Nwaneri, 17, is another who could lay claim to an attacking midfield role. His silky touch and vision impressed fans in attendance. Arsenal expect the talented Nwaneri to play a role in the first-team squad during the coming season.

Arsenal started with three 17-year-olds on the pitch: Nwaneri, centre-back Ayden Heaven and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Dutchman Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand, 20, also played the first 45 minutes in central midfield.

Arteta will be pleased that all of the players looked technically accomplished and largely composed, even though they were up against a strong Bournemouth side.

Along with Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly was the other standout performer among Arsenal’s academy contingent. Although primarily a central midfielder, he has started successive pre-season friendlies as a left-back. His tenacious performance suggests there may be legs in this experiment yet.

Academy products Omar Rekik, Josh Nichols, Charles Sagoe Junior and Jimi Gower were all also involved as second-half substitutes.

Arsenal’s two most senior goalkeepers will not join up with the squad until after the tour because of their involvement in the European Championship. In their stead, 22-year-old Estonia international Karl Hein played in goal.

Having signed a new contract this summer, Hein is expected to go out on loan this season. For the duration of the tour, however, he will be Arsenal’s primary goalkeeper.

He impressed with two outstanding saves to deny Dominic Solanke and Dango Ouattara. He was also unlucky to be beaten for Bournemouth’s goal, with Semenyo’s shot deflecting off Ben White and looping high over the stranded goalkeeper.

When it comes to distribution, Hein has some way to go before matching Raya. At one point during the first half, Arteta was infuriated with Hein’s decision-making in possession — and he did not hesitate to make his thoughts known from the touchline.

But the two saves in the shootout were further evidence of his shot-stopping ability.

Sunday, July 28: Manchester United, SoFi Stadium, 1am UK, 8pm ET (Saturday)

(Top photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

James McNicholas has covered Arsenal extensively for more than a decade. He has written for ESPN, Bleacher Report and FourFourTwo Magazine, and is the co-host of the Arsecast Extra Podcast. Follow James on Twitter @gunnerblog