3 takeaways from Arsenal's pre-season draw with Bournemouth

For the first time since May, supporters were able to catch a glimpse of Mikel Arteta's showtime Arsenal in action, although they were held to a 1-1 draw by Bournemouth in California.

The absence of several notable senior stars meant there was a healthy sprinkling of Hale End in Wednesday night's game. Academy hopefuls complemented the senior heads pretty well, especially in the opening period, with the Gunners offering a constant threat despite, at times, suffering in the face of a coherent Cherries press.

A pre-arranged penalty shootout followed the 90 minutes after Antoine Semenyo cancelled out Fabuo Vieira's splendid opener, and Arsenal prevailed despite Leandro Trossard hitting the post.

Wednesday night's outing was the first of three fixtures out in the States with Arteta's side facing Manchester United and Liverpool over the next week.

Here are three takeaways from the pre-season draw with Bournemouth.

1. Ethan Nwaneri has a role to play next season

There was undoubtedly a PR stunt element to Arteta making Nwaneri the then-youngest-ever Premier League player in September 2022 with a late appearance away at Brentford, but there's no denying that the club has high hopes for the teenager.

While Arsenal have allowed academy graduates to come and go, Nwaneri is a talent well worthy of having around for the long haul. There's been just the odd senior outing since making his debut, often not having long enough on the pitch to make an impression, but we saw what Nwaneri is all about in California.

Starting in the 'Martin Odegaard role', the 16-year-old worked in harmony with Fabio Vieira down the right, showing an impressive understanding of when to rotate. He was never physically overwhelmed and was able to use his body superbly to ride challenges and progress upfield.

His robustness is complemented by a clean technical profile, and his outing on Wednesday proved his readiness among the seniors. Nwaneri's trending towards being a part of the first team next season.

2. Joy to have Martin Odegaard back

Sure, we may not have enjoyed the collective mastery we're used to seeing from this Arsenal side against Bournemouth, but it was great to see some of the kids shine and, most importantly, Martin Odegaard back on a football pitch.

You can just kick back and smile when the Nordic creator is weaving his magic wand. He makes life so much easier.

The skipper played a mere cameo role on Wednesday, but he still had time to test Neto with a free-kick from distance, slide in Leandro Trossard for a great second-half chance, and coolly dispatch his penalty in the shootout. This was a good night's work for Odegaard, and I'm already counting down the seconds until we see him in action again.

3. Could Karl Hein be number two?

Nwaneri got plenty of Player of the Match shouts and Odegaard's cameo was undoubtedly impactful, but there's no doubt that Hein was Arsenal's standout performer on the night.

Before saving two spot kicks - his first save to deny Philip Billing was superb - Hein ensured Arsenal earned a draw in regulation. His outstanding moment came towards the end of the first half when he denied Dominic Solanke with a strong left fist, but he also bailed out Omar Rekik in the second period by stopping Dango Ouattara one-on-one.

Hein may have played just a few times for Arteta's side, but he has plenty of experience on the international stage. The Estonian shot-stopper has some way to go until Arteta can fully trust him given his issues in possession, but he may well emerge as a possible number two option by the end of the summer.

READ THE LATEST ARSENAL NEWS HERE!