Opinion: Arsenal Pre-season Results Don’t Matter, Performances Do

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·8 August 2025

Opinion: Arsenal Pre-season Results Don’t Matter, Performances Do

I am not sure if it is YouTubers chasing views or fans bored while news is quiet, but is it me or has there been an overreaction regarding a couple of pre-season defeats? To stress, I would be saying that no matter the result of any friendly, I have never put any emphasis on the scoreline. I can name you years when our summer fixtures went well but our campaign did not, and vice versa.

The real point of Arsenal’s Far East tour

For those Gooners concerned about our performances in Asia, I really think they are missing the point of what Arsenal were looking to achieve when they arranged to play in the Far East. The Gunners’ priority in Singapore and Hong Kong was never winning matches, preparing the squad or giving ourselves the best possible preparation for Old Trafford. If it was, Viktor Gyökeres would have arrived sooner and Eze would have signed by now.

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Arsenal’s pre-season Asia tour will be deemed a success purely because of the money made, which was the only reason for the trip in the first place.

What Mikel Arteta has failed to do against AC Milan, Newcastle, Spurs and Villarreal is demonstrate that tactically things will be different from last year. That was the question mark over the Spaniard in May when he looked like a man who needed a holiday.

(Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

The changes Arteta must consider

No one is asking the 43-year-old to change his ethos six years into his managerial career. No top coach would do that. Yet it is equally a skill set to admit your mistakes, recognise when something is not working and adapt.

Can our boss’s ego allow him to concede his approach has been too conservative? That he needs to give the likes of Martinelli more freedom? That there is too much pressure on Ødegaard to be the sole creative spark? That while he finally has a proven goal scorer to work with, he can tweak his current system to convert possession into chances?

Of all the changes Arteta has to make to turn us into champions, he needs to change himself.

I am not sure he can.

Your thoughts welcome in the comments.

Dan Smith

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