New Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres was introduced to the crowd in Singapore, while 15-year-old Max Dowman once again impressed as the Gunners beat Newcastle 3-2 in pre-season.
Gyokeres completed a move worth up to £64m to the Gunners from Sporting on Saturday and waved to fans from the pitch before kick-off.
However, the Arsenal fans inside the National Stadium did not get long to enjoy the moment as Anthony Elanga scored his first goal in Newcastle colours with a scuffed effort after Sandro Tonali picked him out inside the box in the sixth minute.
The Gunners did have chances through Kai Havertz and Ben White, but eventually drew level when Mikel Merino finished well from a clever Havertz flick in the 33rd minute.
Just two minutes later Arsenal were in front when Havertz’s low cross was slammed into his own net by Newcastle left-back Alex Murphy.
Newcastle made nine changes at half-time and almost conceded again when Nick Pope saved well from an acrobatic effort from Bukayo Saka.
It was one of those subs who then drew them level when Jacob Murphy was allowed space to shoot from the edge of the area and the ball bobbled past David Raya.
Arteta once again brought on highly rated youngster Dowman, and the forward won a penalty following a skilful run, with captain Martin Odegaard scoring from the spot to give Arsenal the win.
They travel to Hong Kong next week to play rivals Tottenham Hotspur, while Newcastle take on Team K League in South Korea.
Gyokeres steals the show
As soon as it was announced before the match, Gyokeres would be arriving in Singapore, the pre-season friendly was not going to be the most important topic of the day.
Supporters in the stadium were mimicking the trademark celebration of the Swedish striker, and when he was welcomed to the pitch from the tunnel surrounded by flames, the noise levels went up a notch.
The 27-year-old forward has not trained with his new team-mates and came straight from the airport to greet the crowd.
Germany forward Havertz has done an excellent job leading the line for Arsenal over the past couple of seasons, but Gyokeres is the type of traditional centre-forward Gunners fans have been crying out for.
“We are super happy to have Viktor with us; it’s been a long journey to get him over here.” Mikel Arteta said about his new signing.
“He’s been incredible, he was very clear from the beginning where he wanted to play and how passionate I felt from day one when we first spoke.
“You can see the boys, you can see the environment as well, very excited with his arrival.”
Arteta praised the club and sporting director Andrea Berta for getting so many deals done this summer.
Arsenal have spent about £204m on Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera.
“We were very clear on the talent that we identified in the window,” said Arteta.
“But actually, to deliver it is something very, very different, and I think the club has done incredibly well.
“Andrea and his team they’ve been absolutely fantastic. So the window, we already have the reforms that we wanted.”
Gyokeres could make his first appearance for Arsenal against Spurs in Hong Kong on Thursday, but the Swede has not trained with a team since the end of May.
“We will assess him tomorrow, he’s done all the medicals, everything is looking good,” added Arteta.
“But to get him up to speed with the right levels of fitness, I think it is very important.
“So we’re not going to stop him, we want him with us as quickly as possible, but we’ll have to assess and the medical team will do that.”
Dowman was a handful when he came on, and Arteta said: “Yeah, it is special.
“Obviously, what he’s done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old.
“We are extremely happy to have him. I think again the environment that he’s around in, his family, the people at the club and around the academy as well [is] super helpful because they put him into this position so early in his journey.”
The only real worry from the match for Arteta was watching Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori limp off just two minutes into the second half and being replaced by Jakub Kiwior.
Howe pushes Newcastle on
Just like Arsenal, it is the conversation around a Swedish striker that has dominated the club’s time in Singapore.
Alexander Isak is considering his options amid interest from Liverpool and manager Eddie Howe has had to field numerous questions about the striker’s future.
After the game, Howe said “nothing had changed” with Isak’s situation, and there was no chance of him flying out to join his team-mates during this trip to Asia.
“We’re not deluded. We know we need to bring players in,” he said. “We’ve known that for a long time. It’s been a challenging transfer window. Let’s see what we can do.”
Another Swede, Elanga, one of Newcastle’s few summer arrivals so far, got his first Newcastle goal and was a bright point in attack alongside William Osula.
“It’s business as usual for the players,” added Howe.
“Naturally, we’re going to miss a player of Alex’s quality. The group will feel that. I can’t sit here and claim they won’,t but we have a very professional group of players. They’ve been brilliant in terms of managing the situation.”
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