Arsenal continued their promising pre-season campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at the National Stadium in Singapore, with Martin Odegaard’s late penalty proving decisive.
Mikel Arteta’s side took the lead twice before finally sealing the win in the 84th minute, having earlier been pegged back by a resilient Newcastle team. With high temperatures and high expectations, both teams delivered a competitive contest that belied the friendly status.
Arsenal opened the scoring through an unfortunate own goal by Newcastle defender Alex Murphy in the 34th minute. His attempted clearance wrong-footed goalkeeper John Ruddy, giving the Gunners a 2-1 advantage after Mikel Merino had earlier cancelled out an initial Arsenal opener just two minutes before.
The second half saw Newcastle fight back through Jacob Murphy, who netted the equaliser in the 58th minute after sustained pressure from Eddie Howe’s men. It looked as though the game was headed for a draw until the introduction of 15-year-old Max Dowman once again lit up proceedings.
Dowman, who impressed against AC Milan days earlier, stole the spotlight after nutmegging Joelinton and drawing a clear foul inside the area. The referee pointed to the spot, and up stepped Odegaard, who coolly dispatched the penalty into the top corner with six minutes remaining.
Despite a late surge from Newcastle, including a powerful shot from Harrison Ashby that was well saved by Kepa, Arsenal held on to maintain their perfect record on the Asia tour.
Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal’s new £63m signing from Sporting CP, did not feature, but his arrival added to the growing optimism around Arteta’s evolving squad. Debuts from new signings like Martin Zubimendi and the continued emergence of Dowman are giving fans plenty to cheer about ahead of the new season.
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