Arsenal 1-0 AC Milan: Player ratings as Gunners start pre-season with a win

Arsenal began their pre-season tour of Asia with a 1-0 win over AC Milan at the Singapore National Stadium.

Mikel Arteta shook things up for his side's first test of their pre-season campaign, handing a number of players chances. New signing Christian Norgaard started in midfield alongside Ethan Nwaneri while Bukayo Saka led the team out as captain.

Donning their brand new away kit, the Gunners dominated the opening minutes with Declan Rice seeing a curling strike from the edge of the box go just over the crossbar.

Milan eventually found their feet, but the chances continued to go Arsenal's way. The best opportunity came when Norgaard found Nwaneri on the edge of the box for the youngster to take a brilliant touch on the turn before firing a half volley at goal. However, it was well saved by Pietro Terracciano.

Prior to a water break, Rafael Leao ran towards goal, but good pressing from William Saliba forced the ball out of play. The Gunners continued their dominance following the stoppage however when Kai Havertz played a low cross for Rice, whose shot was blocked well by Fikayo Tomori.

Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White both had efforts blocked following a corner in added time, meaning the two teams went into half-time level.

Arteta made a number of changes at the break, bringing on debutants Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi, as well as Martin Odegaard, Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a great opportunity to put his side ahead early on in the second half, but as he raced through on goal, Saliba did brilliantly to get across and calmly dispossess him.

Arsenal finally found the breakthrough shortly after when Trossard cut back for Kiwior to play a superb cross to the back post where Saka arrived to beat Terracciano with a scuffed effort. Odegaard went close to doubling his side's lead just after the hour mark, but his thunderous first-time strike hit the side netting.

The boss then decided to give opportunities to more players, bringing on academy stars Max Dowman, Marli Salmon and Josh Nichols, as well as Mikel Merino. Dowman nearly grabbed a debut goal instantly when he cut inside from the right before unleashing a shot that went wide.

Trossard, Merino and Nelson all had chances to make it 2-0 in the late stages, but were denied by brilliant saves. Arsenal saw out the remaining minutes to secure their first win of their pre-season campaign.

As has been the case in friendlies over recent years, there was a penalty shootout following the match, despite the scoreline. Despite Kepa making three saves to take it to sudden death, Milan won the shootout 6-5.

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their 1-0 friendly win over AC Milan.

Arsenal 1-0 AC Milan player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

David Raya (GK) - 6.5/10 - Didn't have much to do except pluck a few crosses out of the air. Distributed well and almost sent Martinelli away with a brilliant pass. Taken off at half-time.

Ben White (RB) - 7/10 - Found himself high up the pitch due to his side's dominance. Played some decent balls into the area and had a shot well blocked from a corner. Withdrawn in the second half.

William Saliba (CB) - 7.5/10 - Dealt with the threat of Leao well and put good pressure on him when he got toward goal. Made a great dash across to calmly take the ball of Loftus-Cheek's feet and deny him a chance. Subbed with 25 minutes to play.

Riccardo Calafiori (CB) - 7/10 - Put in a great tackle to prevent Pulisic having a shot at goal. Saw a header cleared off the line in first-half stoppage time. Replaced at half-time.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) - 6/10 - Played his usual more advanced and inverted role. Did that relatively well but didn't offer too much. Taken off at the break.

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