Nicolas Pepe jumped to shoot in the very first goal from Villarreal to Arsenal while Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jakub Kiwior were caught for the opening of the 16th minute in a pre-season friend at the Emirates Stadium.
The winger Pepe, who is the second most expensive signature in Arsenal gracked with his unhappy moving of 72 million pounds Sterling in Nice in 2019, struck at close range after Pape Gueye sent a shot from outside the box against a post and goalkeeper David Raya could not hold the head of Gerard Moreno.
Karl Etta Eyong repeated the tip 17 minutes later from the equally close districts after the end of Raya of the strike of Moreno, but Christian Norgaard provided an essential relief measure for the Premier League team, opening his account for his new club with a free head at the 36th minute of the corner of Gabriel Martinelli.
“It is a good game of Villarreal but really poor by Arsenal, which died,” said the former Gunners winger, Perry Groves, to the Arsenal website of the first goal, adding the second: “It is really a really sloppy defense – no one goes with the runner.”
It feels it. He is looking for it. He has it. Etta Eyong and her romance with the goal. 👽 pic.twitter.com/qrwqqpxbp9
– Villarreal CF (@villarrealcf) August 6, 2025
Arsenal vs Villarreal: Lewis-Skelly “must be faster”
The left back Myles Lewis-Skelly had trouble containing Pepe on the right flank for the side that qualified for the Champions League with a fifth place in Laliga from last season.
“It was a very good Pepe game,” said Groves, double arsenal high flight champion. “Lewis-Skelly must get very close.
“Gueye had too much space and obtained a shot that came out of a post. Villarreal recycled it and we are not quick enough to reach the first and second balls.
“Kiwior tries to protect the balloon [in front of goal] When he should slide it with his left foot. Pepe flows to the back of him.
“It is the pre-season and I know that things are a little rusty but Lewis-Skelly must go to Pepe faster at the general game, because it prevents him from choosing his pass.”
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Christian Norgaard: First goal Arsenal
As it had been for their first, Sergi Cardona was the catalyst for the second of Villarreal with his speed, his cunning and his capacity to cross the left.
“No one goes with the runner,” observed Groves. “It is a very good stop by David Raya, who obtains a big left hand there.”
Midfielder Norgaard, who arrived from Brentford for 15 million pounds Sterling in July, planted his head under the Guardian Luiz Junior.
“He is completely marked at the distant post,” said Groves. “It’s a very good technical header. He gives Luis Junior no chance.
“It just brings us back to the game because everything had become a little flat to the Emirates.
“The crowd needed something to put the teeth and Norgaard gave them this. It was a delivery of Declan Rice de Martinelli.”
Arsenal line, Team News against Villarreal
Arsenal gave a start to Viktor Gyokerres, who joined Sporting in July for costs that could reach 64 million pounds sterling and did not have a significant impact during the first stages.
Another new striker, Noni Madueke, was on the bench after missing the Arsenal tour in Asia when she recovered from the Chelsea campaign to the club World Cup in June and July.
Gabriel and Jurrien Timber were injured, while his colleague defender Riccardo Calafiori was absent after missing 1-0 defeat against the Spurs in Hong Kong last Thursday with a knee injury.
The striker Leandro Trossard was not risky after drinking in this match.
Bilbao Athletic Also Visit Arsenal on Saturday (5:00 p.m. BST / 12:00 and / 09:00 pt) and Arteta expects high -level meetings with Laliga clubs.
“Villarreal plays at the highest level and has a manager in Marcelino who likes to play a very specific type and training that we will find in the Premier League this season,” predicted the Spaniard.
“Playing against the Spanish opposition will also require other things from us and I expect very good games.
“When we organize these pre-season matches, I always watch how the manager establishes his teams, how they train their team, the kind of players they have, how they form different game phases against different blocks.
“We have a very good mixture of this pre-season. The knowledge and experience we gain from these games come into our “database” to help us throughout the season. This helps how we have to develop our game models.
“Each match will require something to you physically and [in terms of] The spaces you need to attack or protect, and different ways [opponents] can also play in their accumulation.
“So we have to nail that and improve this. Playing against Villarreal will help, so it’s a good game for us.”
Arsenal Start XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Merino, Nwaneri, Saka, Martinelli, Gyokerres
Arsenal substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Setford, Timber, Gabriel, Mosqua, Zinchenko, Longuna, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Madueke, Rice, Dowman, Harriman-Annous
News from the Villarreal team, lineage v arsenal
Willy Kambwala was absent for Villarreal with a left-back injury that the French defender-cololais suffered during their friendly match against Genoa on July 31.
Cap Verdean defender Logan Costa took place on Tuesday for a complete break in the previous cross ligament in his left knee, undergoing the injury in their first pre-season match against Basel FC on July 19.
The right back Santiago Mourino, who made his debut during the 1-1 draw in Leeds United on Saturday, kept his place.
Thomas Parte should sign for Villarreal this week, but the former Arsenal midfielder, who will appear in Westminster Magistrates short Wednesday after being accused of five rape chiefs and one of sexual assault, was not on board for a return to the Emirates stadium.
Villarreal is not foreigners at the Emirates stadium, although they failed to score during their three previous visits.
The Kolo Toure opening match in the 41st minute at home for Arsenal turned out to be the only goal of the draw in the semi-final of the 2005/06 Champions League, Riquelme missing a late penalty for Villarreal as a step back to El Madrigal.
The teams met in London again in equality in the quarter-final on 1-1 after the first stage in 2009, only for Arsenal to pass with a 3-0 victory.
Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin Van Persie marked this occasion, and Villarreal has been undefeated in the two games between clubs since then.
Under the former manager of Arsenal Unai Emery, Villarreal won the first 2-1 home floor against the Arteta team in the semi-finals of the Europa 2020/21 league, Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol marking before Pepe’s late response.
The second floor finished 0-0, sending the yellow submarine to a final, they won 11-10 for penalties against Manchester United after a 1-1 draw in Gdansk.
Villarreal Start XI: Junior, Mourino, Marin, Foyth, Cardona, Gueye, Moleiro, Parejo, Pepe, Eyong, Moreno
Villarreal substitutes: Gomez, Conde, Navarro, Suarez, Danjuma, Altimira, Comeana, Buchanan, Pedraza, Valou, Cabanes
Arsenal against Villarreal on television? Canals, online flows
Arsenal against Villarreal started at 6:00 p.m. BST / 13:00 and / 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The game is not projected on television but can be watched via Arsenal website.
The match costs £ 6.99, with a package including the match against the athletic bilbao from £ 10.99.
There are repeated projections three and six hours after full time.
When when the Premier League season begins in 2025/26 from Arsenal?
The first round of the Premier League matches in 2025/26 will take place on the weekend of August 16, 2025, including the trip from Arsenal to Manchester United on Sunday August 17 at 4:30 p.m. BST.
The match against the finalists of the Europa League 2024/25 is presented live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Premier League, Ultra and Main Event.
The last round of matches this season will all start at the same time on May 24, 2026. No round will take place within 60 hours of each other and there will be no match on December 24.
When when the Villarreal season begins in 2025/26 in Laliga?
Having qualified for the Champions League in finishing fifth last season, Villarreal began its 2025/26 campaign at home in Oviedo on August 15 (20:30 BST / 15:30 and / 12:30 pt).
Their visitors were promoted during the playoffs after being third in the Segunda division.
