The Gunners finished their pre-season with defeat at Spurs, and though their new signings are settling in nicely, they are crying out for creativity
Arsenal ended their pre-season campaign with a defeat on Sunday, going down 1-0 at Tottenham.
Son Heung-min’s goal late in the second half was enough to sink the Gunners, who kick off the new Premier League season with a London derby at newly-promoted Brentford on Friday.
It was a second successive defeat for Mikel Arteta’s side, following on from last weekend’s game against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, which saw the Blues win 2-1.
There were, though, some positives for the Gunners against Spurs, with new signings Ben White and Albert Sambi Lokonga impressing, but there were also worrying signs ahead of the new campaign, especially in attack where familiar woes remain.
Below, Goal goes through the major talking points from Arsenal’s final pre-season clash of the summer...
Aubameyang's form a real concern
It may only be pre-season, but it is difficult not to be concerned by the performances of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer.
After such a disappointing campaign last time out, a lot is expected from the Arsenal captain in 2021-22, but there have been few signs in recent weeks that he is about to rediscover his best form.
Aubameyang has played in all six of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies and failed to find the net in any of them. The Gabon international had plenty of chances across most of those matches, but could not take them.
Against Spurs, however, he never looked like a threat while playing out on the left once again, mustering just one shot and failing to create a chance for any of his team-mates.
With so few goal threats in the Arsenal side, Arteta desperately needs his skipper at his best, so his lack of form and poor all-round play will be a real concern on the eve of the new season.
Arsenal are a side who do not create many chances, and against Tottenham they once again paid the price for failing to take advantage of their superiority when they were on top - especially in the first half.
Aubameyang used to be the man the Gunners could rely on to take an opportunity when it came his way, but right now he looks a pale imitation of the striker who scored so prolifically during his first two full seasons at the club.
He was replaced by Bukayo Saka midway through the second half and it would be no surprise if he found himself on the bench when Arsenal kick off the new season.
Lokonga in pole position
With the start of Arsenal’s Premier League campaign just six days away, the starting XI against Spurs was always going to give a clear indication as to what Arteta was thinking ahead of the game at the Brentford Community Stadium.
With Thomas Partey set to miss at least three weeks with the ankle injury he sustained against Chelsea, one of the big question marks was over who would line up alongside Granit Xhaka in the heart of midfield.
Mohamed Elneny seemed to be the most likely partner for Xhaka, with the majority presuming Arteta would favour the experienced Egypt international over recent summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga.
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