Football | Arsenal 1 - 0 AC Milan

Saka strike earns Arsenal pre-season win in Singapore

Bukayo Saka’s second-half goal was enough to secure victory for Arsenal in their opening match of their Asia Tour, as Mikel Arteta’s side edged out Milan in Singapore.

Author | DJ

The England international converted from close range after meeting Jakub Kiwior’s well-weighted cross, in a match that also featured debuts for three of Arsenal’s summer signings.

Arsenal began brightly in front of a vocal crowd at the National Stadium, playing in Singapore for the first time since 2018. Saka looked sharp on the right wing and linked up well with Ben White, while Ethan Nwaneri had the first real opportunity of the game. The 17-year-old showed composure to turn past his marker before forcing a strong save from Pietro Terracciano.

Milan’s best moment of the opening half came when Alexis Saelemaekers fired over from the edge of the area. Arsenal enjoyed the majority of possession and territorial control, but failed to make it count before the break. In added time, Riccardo Calafiori saw a looping header cleared off the line before White’s follow-up was blocked.

READ MORE | Pre Season match reports

Arteta made two changes at the interval, with Martin Zubimendi replacing Christian Norgaard in midfield and Kepa Arrizabalaga coming on for David Raya in goal. It was Kiwior, though, who made the decisive impact. His cross found Saka unmarked at the back post, and the winger calmly guided a left-footed shot into the ground and beyond the goalkeeper.

Later substitutions included 15-year-olds Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, who were both handed non-competitive debuts. Dowman impressed with a lively cameo, nearly scoring after a neat exchange with Martin Ødegaard.

Arsenal remained in control for much of the second half, with Kepa largely untroubled. Milan’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani produced a series of fine saves to deny Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson, but Arsenal had already done enough to begin their pre-season on a positive note.

Milan triumphs in post-match penalty shootout

After the game, the teams took part in a penalty shootout, which finished 2-2 after five kicks each, with Zubimendi and Merino netting for Arteta's side, while Kepa made three good saves all to his left. 

With the shootout in sudden death, Dowman, Trossard and Josh Nichols converted, but Milan netted all three of theirs too. After Marli Salmon failed to hit the target, the famous Italian side triumphed 6-5.